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Press conference after the October Meeting
of the Monetary Policy Council
Date: 02-10-2013
The Monetary Policy Council confirmed its intention to maintain the interest rates unchanged at least until the end of 2013
At its meeting on 1 and 2 October 2013, the Monetary Policy Council decided to keep the interest rates unchanged. The reference rate remains at 2.5% in annual terms. The press conference was attended by prof. Marek Belka, the MPC Chairman and MPC members: prof. Anna Zielińska-Głębocka and prof. Elżbieta Chojna-Duch. The press release presented at the conference reads, among others, that “ Given low inflation pressure and a moderate level of the expected recovery, in the Council's assessment interest rates should be kept unchanged at least until the end of 2013, (…)”.
At the conference, journalists asked, among others, whether the MPC had considered prolonging the horizon of maintaining interest rates at the present level, e.g. until the middle of 2014. Prof. Marek Belka said that the MPC had not discussed this issue at its October meeting.
Asked about the assessment of the proposal to introduce the principle of rotating MPC members in the amended Act on Narodowy Bank Polski, e.g. one third of the number of members to be rotated every two years, the President of NBP said that it was worth considering.
President Marek Belka reminded the participants that NBP had expressed a negative opinion on the proposal of the Ministry of Finance, which allowed for the possibility of electing MPC members for the second term of office.