What happened to the zloty exchange rate? The Minister of Finance wants explanations from Google
The Ministry of Finance responds to confusion related to incorrect display of currency rates. On January 1, there was a lot of buzz after the prices of the euro, dollar, pound and franc “increased significantly.”
Continuation of the case of incorrect display of currency rates in the Google search engine. According to RMF FM, the Minister of Finance, Andrzej Domański, asked the American technology giant to provide explanations regarding the false reporting of currency rates.
The Ministry of Finance wants to know what was the cause of the massive confusion that broke out on the Polish market on January 1. Three scenarios are taken into account: human error, intentional manipulation or artificial intelligence.
Has the zloty exchange rate collapsed? This is a Google error
People who closely monitor the markets or those who are preparing to go abroad for the winter holidays may have experienced a strong shock when they checked the prices of foreign currencies on Google on January 1. The euro exchange rate suddenly jumped to PLN 5.75 (the day before, the euro cost just over PLN 4.30), the dollar to PLN 5.21, and the pound to PLN 6.63.
These are levels that have not been seen for years, and what was more shocking was the pace of growth and its level. Many people started posting panicked posts on social media. There was also no shortage of theories laced with politics. But all this is not true.
Observers who have been watching the currency markets for a long time know that this type of situations have happened before. The sudden jump results from an incorrect presentation of the exchange rate by Google, which in turn is most likely the result of the American company not receiving current data from the National Bank of Poland on January 1.
To reassure not only investors, but also all concerned Poles, Minister of Finance Andrzej Domański commented on the matter. He explained the matter in a short entry on the X website.
“Relax. This zloty rate that is causing panic is a fake (data source error). Markets in Asia will open soon and the situation will return to normal,” wrote Andrzej Domański, Minister of Finance on the X website, reassuring concerned observers.
