WARSAW: Poland’s Monetary Policy Council held interest rates flat for the third month in a row after economic growth beat forecasts and deflation eased.
The decision, announced in a statement from the central bank NBP on Tuesday, kept the key reference rate at 1.5%, the deposit rate at 0.5% and the Lombard rate at 2.5%, all record lows set in a 50 bps cut at the March sitting. The council faces an outright “boring” year in the Polish economy, which “is the best possible scenario,” NBP head Marek Belka said on May 22, adding that he saw “no need” to think about tweaking policy.
Most recent data of Central Statistics Office (GUS) show Poland’s economy growing by a faster than expected annual rate of 3.6%. Acceleration of key components showed an economy running on what local analysts called “dynamic and diversified” growth. Q1 trends are moreover expected to “persist and solidify,” in Q2, GUS officials said.
