By Patryk Wasilewski
WARSAW--Poland's monetary policy council will consider extending
its current forward guidance in July when updated economic
forecasts from the central bank are available, minutes from its
April meeting showed Thursday.
The 10-strong interest rate panel kept borrowing costs at an
all-time low of 2.5% in April and reiterated it won't change policy
at least until September as the economy continues its recovery and
inflation remains low.
Governor Marek Belka indicated after the decision that the panel
is likely to keep the borrowing costs unchanged in the fourth
quarter as well.
The latest batch of the central bank forecasts sees economic
expansion continuing at a pace around 3.6%-3.7% in 2014 and 2015
without causing inflationary pressures. The central bank expects
consumer inflation, which was at 0.7% in March, to accelerate only
gradually before hitting the bank's 2.5% goal sometime in 2016.
Central and Eastern Europe's top economy grew 1.6% last year,
but the European Union's recovery and an improving domestic market
are expected to drive recovery to about 3.6% this year.
Write to Patryk Wasilewski at patryk.wasilewski@wsj.com