This is why borrowers did not receive a gift after the holidays. There is a message

The first meeting of the Monetary Policy Council (MPC) after the summer break ended on Wednesday. For the fifth time in a row, the body decided to leave interest rates at the current level.

After the September meeting of the Monetary Policy Council, interest rates remain at the following levels:

• reference rate – 3.75 percent on an annual basis,

• lombard rate – 4.25 percent on an annual basis,

• deposit rate – 3.25 percent on an annual basis,

• rediscount rate of bills of exchange – 3.80 percent on an annual basis,

• bill of exchange discount rate – 3.85 percent on an annual basis.

Yesterday’s decision may be a disappointment for borrowers (the rate reduction is associated with a decrease in mortgage and business loan installments), but on the other hand it can hardly be considered a surprise. Let us recall that nearly 20 analytical teams and economists surveyed by “Rzeczpospolita” and “Parkiet” predicted that interest rates would remain at the current level.

Monetary Policy Council on maintaining interest rates

How does the MPC itself explain the decision? In the statement issued immediately after Wednesday’s meeting, attention was drawn to the latest data on the Polish economy. According to the preliminary estimate of the Central Statistical Office, the annual GDP dynamics in the second quarter of this year. was 3.9 percent (compared to 3.5% in the first quarter), with acceleration in investment growth and slower consumption growth. In July this year retail sales and industrial production increased year-on-year. However, construction and assembly production decreased, as did the dynamics of wages in the economy in the second quarter of this year (quarter by quarter). This was accompanied by a decline in employment in the corporate sector, which continued in July.

The statement also referred to preliminary data on August consumer inflation. According to the Central Statistical Office’s flash estimate, it increased to 3.4%. year to year compared to 3 percent in July. This was mainly due to the increase in the annual dynamics of fuel prices for private means of transport. The Council also expects an increase in core inflation (the reading will be released in mid-September).

– In these conditions, the Council decided to keep interest rates unchanged – we read in the statement.

The Monetary Policy Council indicates that its further decisions will depend on the incoming information regarding the prospects for inflation and economic activity in Poland. These prospects will be influenced in particular by the macroeconomic situation in the environment of the Polish economy, including the development of commodity prices and global inflation in the context of the changing geopolitical situation. The shape of fiscal policy, changes in the dynamics of activity in the Polish economy and further developments in wage dynamics also remain risk factors for the inflation outlook.