Dabrowski: The pause in interest rate hikes will last for some time yet

The Monetary Policy Council (MPC) cannot be considered to have definitively ended the cycle of interest rate hikes, but for the time being, all indications are that this pause will continue for some time to come, according to MPC member Ireneusz Dąbrowski.

"For the time being, we have a pause in this tightening process and final decisions will depend on incoming data. So we can't say that we have definitively ended (rate hikes), but for now everything indicates that this pause will continue for some time to come," Dabrowski told Reuters.

He added that, in his opinion, the current level of interest rates has such a good effect on the system that this pause will continue for the time being.

The Council member pointed out that based on current data, it is impossible to determine how long the MPC will decide to leave interest rates at the current level.

In his opinion, inflation will return to the central bank's target range (2.5% +-/-1 percentage point) sooner than in 2025 (this is the date indicated by the November inflation projection of the National Bank of Poland).

The MPC raised interest rates for the first time in October 2021, and then increased them for 10 consecutive months, until September this year. In total, the basic reference rate rose from 0.1% to 6.75% during this period. In October and November, the MPC decided to leave the level of interest rates unchanged.

Source: Reuters and ISBnews