Standard & Poor's blames zloty flotation for rapid devaluation of currency

In its newest report analyzing the effects of the full flotation of the zloty, Standard & Poor's rating agency says the recent devaluation of the zloty, "...was a natural effect of the flotation of the zloty". "That's absurd," said Monetary Policy Council (RPP) member Cezary Jozefiak. "The zloty lost against the dollar and the euro for several reasons, but the freeing of the exchange rate was not one of them," he said. Jozefiak blamed investors, who according to him, are too emotional and often disregard economic fundamentals. The zloty's decline began two weeks after the RPP and the government decided to float it. The Polish currency lost 14% to the dollar and 5% to the euro. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 23) T.J.