(Adds details from statement)
WARSAW, May 10 (Reuters) - Poland's central bank left
its main interest rate on hold at 6.75% on Wednesday, as
expected, maintaining its view that slowing growth will help
curb inflation as price growth looks to have peaked.
Inflation in Poland has fallen in the last two months,
reaching 14.7% in April, according to a flash estimate from the
statistics office, well above the central bank's target range of
1.5-3.5%.
However, the decline from a peak of 18.4% in February has
been faster than analysts forecast, leading some members of the
Monetary Policy Council (MPC) to say that rate cuts could be
possible later this year.
Governor Adam Glapinski, who will hold a press conference on
Thursday, has said that he hoped the first interest rate cut
would be possible at the end of the year, but that it would
depend on how much inflation eased.
"The decline in domestic inflation will be supported by
weakening of GDP growth, including consumption, amid a
significant decrease in credit growth," the central bank said,
sticking to its wording from previous statements.
Analysts polled by Reuters expected rates to stay on hold
until the end of the year. Wednesday's decision marked the
eighth month in a row that the cost of credit has stayed on
hold.
"The decision was without surprises," said Rafal Benecki,
chief economist at ING in Warsaw. "Recent weak economic data and
the strengthening of the zloty may cause the governor to signal
a return of chances for rate cuts before the end of the year,
but it will not be a statement with much conviction."
Elsewhere in central Europe, Romania's central bank kept its
benchmark interest rate at 7.00% on Wednesday, as expected, and
reiterated it saw inflation falling to a single-digit rate by
the third quarter.
(Reporting by Anna Koper, Karol Badohal, Alan Charlish, Pawel
Florkiewicz, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Bernadette Baum
and Alex Richardson)
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