RPP may consider rate rise in light of Consumer Price Index rise

The main drive behind the increase in prices is the high price of fuels on international markets. "We still believe that inflation will be dropping within the 6-months scope. However, the drop might be slightly smaller than anticipated," said PKO BP economist, Piotr Kalisz. The current situation could result in the Monetary Policy Council (RPP) raising interest rates further next week. "We believe that the rates will be moved up in December or January, as the RPP might wait for data on investments in Q3," said Kalisz. The Finance Ministry deepened the uneasiness of the markets by increasing its 2004 CPI forecast to 4.3-4.4% from earlier prediction of 4%. (Parkiet, p. 14) M.M.