Inflation could be as high as 20%: MPC
21:34
The process of raising interest rates in Poland is going too fast, believes Przemysław Litwiniuk, a member of the Monetary Policy Council (MPC). At the same time, he stresses that he is in favor of tightening monetary policy "but not to a sudden degree".
"The ineffectiveness of this process is evidenced by the fact that it does not have any impact on the banks' deposit policy. The fact that interest rates on deposits are rising is a result of political pressure and not monetary policy mechanisms," he said in an interview with TVN24 on the topic of raising interest rates in Poland.
He reminded that a few weeks ago, he expected inflation in Poland to peak at 17 percent in annual terms. Currently, when asked whether this year inflation can reach 20 percent, he said: "We cannot be sure of anything”.
According to the Central Statistical Office (GUS) on Friday, consumer inflation last month was 12.4 percent on an annualized basis.
The MPC began raising interest rates in October 2021 and has raised them every month. In total, after eight hikes – including May's 75 basis point increase – the main reference rate rose 5.15 percentage points to 5.25 percent.
