Impact of oil prices made themselves felt in March and may hit interest rat es

Industrial output data for March showed the economy was picking faster than forecasted, but a strong producer price increase left analysts divided over the chances of an interest rate cut this month. The Central Statistical Off ice said unadjusted industrial output grew by 5.7% y-o-y in March and by 12 .3% from February. Figures also showed a faster than forecasted increase of factory-gate prices, which grew by 0.7% from February, bringing the annual rise in last month's producer price index (PPI) to 3.4% from 2.9% in Februa ry. Analysts said that higher oil prices combined with last month's weakeni ng of the złoty, were the main forces behind the producer price increase. " After what we saw today, with acceleration of the production and a much fas ter and wider growth in PPI, it's going to be a close call when the central bank meets next week," said Krzysztof Rybiński, chief economist at BPH PBK. (Reuters) M.M.