RPP says economy could be picking up, but still split over interest rate cut s

Monetary Policy Council (RPP) members are hinting that there are signs that the Polish economy could be on the road to recovery, but they appear to have differing views on what decision the Council should take at its meeting next week. Hawkish members, such as Boguslaw Grabowski, are suggesting that low inflation at present does not mean that interest rates have to be cut in line automatically. Meanwhile, dovish member Wieslawa Zi0lkowska, said that there is room for a cut and that it should happen sooner rather than later. It is likely that National Bank of Poland (NBP) governor Leszek Balcerowicz will have the decisive vote at the RPP meeting, as has been the case in the past, but Balcerowicz refrained from any comments which would suggest a possible outcome. These officials made their remarks on the fringes of an NBP conference on economic policy. The conference featured presentations from former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker and former Chief Adviser to the Bank of England, Charles Goodhart. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B6; Reuters) T.J.