Talk of deflation "premature" says RPP member

Monetary Policy Council (RPP) member Grzegorz Wojtowicz dismissed the possibility of Poland experiencing deflation in the near-term saying he expected price pressure to rebound in February or March, from record lows. Polish inflation hit a post-communist low of 0.4% in January, according to preliminary data released yesterday by the Central Statistical Office (GUS). "Talk of deflation has become trendy but it is unjustified, or at least much premature in the case of Poland, because it is not a country with shrinking domestic demand," Wojtowicz told reporters. Inflation has dropped across Eastern Europe, but analysts said prospects of higher oil prices would keep Poland from following the neighboring Czech Republic, which recorded deflation in January - its first in post-communist history. (Reuters) A.K.