Adam Glapiński made the comment at a briefing on Thursday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
It came after NBP’s Monetary Policy Council on Wednesday raised key interest rates for the ninth time in succession in a bid to tackle surging consumer prices.
The reference rate went up by 75 basis points to six percent, from 5.25 percent, as inflation reached 13.9 percent at the end of May, according to a flash estimate by the country’s Central Statistical Office (GUS).
The NBP chief commented on Thursday: “We are gradually approaching the end of our cycle of interest rate increases.”
‘Inflation will fall to around 6 percent in the new year’
He added: “Inflation is going to rise slightly in the coming months, but after the summer, after the holidays, it will stabilise.”
According to the official, “inflation will be under control after the turn of the year, falling to around 6 percent.”
Interest rates to be cut next year?
“We seek to drive inflation down in a lasting way and reduce interest rates when the time is right,” Glapiński stated.
He added: “Unless something unexpected happens, in the last quarter of next year there may be a possibility to cut interest rates.”
Anti-inflation measures
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in April 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 inflation 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.
Central bank chief Adam Glapiński earlier this year vowed to do all it takes to ensure a lasting reduction in inflation.
(pm)
Source: PAP, businessinsider.com.pl