Monetary Policy Council freezes main market rate at 5.25%

According to a Reuters poll, analysts expect the main market rate to stay unchanged as economic growth accelerates without generating inflationary pressures. The zloty, which in early trading weakened due to uncertainty regarding political support for the government's fiscal reforms following Miller's announcement to resign on May 2, recovered slightly and was 0.1% stronger against the euro than before the RPP's decision. "The slight firming may have more to do with Fitch [an international rating agency] comments than with the MPC statement, which was in line with market expectations," said Wojciech Trzepizur, dealer at BRE Bank. According to the Fitch statement, although the current rating outlook is positive, it depends largely on the implementation of the minority government's fiscal reforms, which aim to save $14 million by 2007. (Parkiet, p. 7) A.Z