MPC's Tyrowicz Reiterates Inflation May Accelerate, Says Interest Rates Should Be Higher

Speaking on Radio Nowy Swiat, NBP's most hawkish policymaker Joanna Tyrowicz reiterated her claim that inflation may rebound towards the end of the year and reaffirmed her support for higher interest rates, despite a widespread perception that the central bank is in the midst of a monetary easing cycle.

• The official deflected a question about the politicisation of the central bank, noting that the fact that such a question is being asked testifies to a "failure of our monetary policy". She refused to engage in this kind of debates, citing the need to keep the central bank outside of politics.
• Tyrowicz reiterated that forecasts prepared by NBP staff suggest that headline inflation may be higher in November and December than it was in September and than the October print. In her view, the role of petrol price manipulation by state-owned energy giant Orlen in the expected rebound in inflation cannot be neglected.
• Commenting on the interview in a LinkedIn post, Tyrowicz wrote that she continues to see the path to the inflation target getting longer. She added that considering available data, setting the key policy rate at 7.75% (currently 5.75%) would be conducive to the fulfilment of the NBP's mandate.