Polish Rate-Setters See Chance for Cuts This Year as CPI Falls

Poland’s central bank may start discussing rate cuts this year after inflation slowed more than expected in April, two members of the Monetary Policy Council told local media Saturday.

(Bloomberg) — Poland’s central bank may start discussing rate cuts this year after inflation slowed more than expected in April, two members of the Monetary Policy Council told local media Saturday.

“There’s a big probability that after summer vacation, inflation will slow down to single digits,” policymaker Ireneusz Dabrowski said in an interview with Polsat News. After August, “I think the council will seriously consider lowering the rates.”

Consumer prices rose 14.7% from a year earlier in April, compared with 16.1% the previous month, according to preliminary data published Friday. The reading was below the median estimate of 15% in a Bloomberg survey. The central bank kept its benchmark rate at 6.75% for the seventh straight month earlier in the month.

Read more: Polish Inflation Eases After War-Related Price Shock Fades

Dabrowski’s remarks were echoed by colleague Henryk Wnorowski, who reiterated that he sees the CPI dropping to single digits in the third quarter.

“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel that will allow us to be bolder in discussing rate cuts,” Wnorowski said in an interview with Radio Lublin.

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