Adam Glapiński was speaking after the Polish central bank’s Monetary Policy Council a day earlier raised key interest rates for the eighth consecutive time in a bid to tame surging consumer prices.
"The Monetary Policy Council has been raising rates for several months, and we will continue to do so until we are sure there is a lasting decrease in inflation," Glapiński told a press conference in Warsaw.
The Polish central bank's reference rate on Thursday went up by 75 basis points to 5.25 percent, from 4.50 percent, amid rising inflation, which hit 12.3 percent in April, its highest level since 1998, according to a flash estimate by the country's Central Statistical Office (GUS).
Glapinski told reporters on Friday that prices were growing mainly because of the war in neighbouring Ukraine.
He said he expected inflation to peak next month or in July.
Glapiński earlier this year vowed to do all it takes to ensure a lasting reduction in inflation.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki last month set out a range of policies to protect borrowers from the effects of inflation and rising interest rates.
He has told reporters that much of the price growth in the country is due to Russia's war against Ukraine, while also accusing Russia of seeking “to drive up inflation in Europe.”
Morawiecki said in late April: “Russia has not only made a brutal, murderous attack on Ukraine … it has assaulted the energy and food security of all of Europe.”
The Polish central bank in March predicted that inflation in the country would stand at 10.8 percent in 2022 on average, followed by 9 percent in 2023 and 4.2 percent in 2024.
Poland's government in mid-March came up with a raft of measures to mitigate the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the Polish economy and society.
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Source: PAP