Zloty continues to lose ground against the dollar, value drops 7.8% since float

The zloty lost nearly 3% of its value against the U.S. dollar on Friday. It was due to the increase of the value of the dollar on international markets, decrease in confidence of the Polish economy and a small turnover on financial markets before the long weekend. The near future of the zloty depends on the current balance of payment report which will be published May 4. National Bank of Poland (NBP) president Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz claims problems with the zloty are due to the decrease of value of the euro against the dollar, high inflation and a high current balance of payment. The zloty has already lost 7.8% against the dollar since Apr. 12 when it was fully floated. Since that time the structure of the Polish financial market has changed as big London investment banks started to make much larger transactions on the market. A decrease in the value of the currency is especially dangerous for Polish exporters who will have to pay more in interest for dollar denominated loans. (Rzeczpospolita, Apr. 29-May 1, page A1, B1) M.M.