No interest rate rise... yet

Many economists believe that raising the cost of credits is almost sure in H1. "65% believe this will take place by June," said Radoslaw Bodys, economist with Merill Lynch. Other experts add that interest rates will be raised from 4% to 4.5% by the end of the year, as the Council is disturbed with strong growth of employment and wages. The number of working population has never been so high since the beginning of the transformation. Due to growing wages, the purchasing power of Poles is also rapidly increasing, which might finally result with strong inflationary pressure. The Ministry of Finance forecasts that in Q1 2007 GDP might grow by 7% y-o-y. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, B1) M.M.