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Press conference held after the February 2013 meeting of the Monetary Policy Council
Date: 06-02-2013
The Monetary Policy Council has decreased the interest rates by 0.25 percentage point for the fourth consecutive time. The NBP President, Mr Marek Belka, said that while the MPC will make an assessment of the policy conducted so far, this does predetermine its March decisions.
At its meeting on 5-6 February 2013, the Monetary Policy Council decided to reduce the policy interest rates by a further 25 basis points. As of 7 February, the reference rate will amount to 3.75% in annualised terms.
The press conference following the MPC meeting was attended by the NBP President, Prof. Marek Belka, and the MPC members: Prof. Elżbieta Chojna-Duch and Prof. Jerzy Hausner. The journalists enquired, among other things, whether this MPC decision marked the end of the present cycle of interest rate cuts. The NBP president repeatedly stressed that after four consecutive interest rate cuts, it was commendable to assess the hitherto pursued policy and consider not only the March decision, but also the overall longer-term policy in the. Thus, at the moment it is impossible to determine what the next decision by the MPC will be. The decision will depend on trends in the economy and in the inflationary pressures, including the developments suggested by the findings of the March GDP and inflation projections drawn up by the NBP’s Economic Institute.
The NBP president also observed that the differences of opinion within the MPC should not be unduly exaggerated and the results of single voting rounds of the members of this body should not give rise to rash inferences.