WARSAW (Reuters) – Monetary policy easing in Poland may begin in the second half of 2025, International Monetary Found (IMF) representative in Poland Geoff Gottlieb said on Wednesday during the European Financial Congress event in Warsaw.
He added that the current level of Polish interest rates was restrictive, “well above neutral rate”.
“Our view is that cuts possibly can begin in the second-half of this year but should move fairly slowly given all the risks to this inflation,” Gottlieb said.
“The final step on inflation is not yet done, so it’s important not to rush the return to a neutral monetary stance.”
The National Bank of Poland (NBP) has kept interest rates unchanged since October 2023, with the reference rate at 5.75% and central bank governor Adam Glapinski said in February there were no grounds for lowering borrowing costs at the moment.
Inflation was 5.3% in January, while the central bank’s inflation target is 2.5% plus or minus one percentage point.
(Reporting by Karol Badohal; writing by Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Toby Chopra)
