RPP projects inflation at 2% for 2003

The annual inflation rate, which hit a new low of 0.8% in December, will likely hover around 2% for most of this year, a member of the National Bank of Poland's rate-setting panel said yesterday. The 10-member Monetary Policy Council, which had already undershot its 2002 inflation target, has kept the CPI target for this year at an unchanged 2%-4% band. "Poland will not be able to sustain inflation at this level. We see it rising to 2.4% at the end of this year and further in 2004 because of adjustments linked to EU accession, including excise and indirect taxes," said Janusz Jankowiak, chief economist at BRE Bank. (Reuters) A.Z.