Head of the Monetary Policy Council and National Bank of Poland, Marek Belka has maintained that a further hike in interest rates is inevitable in the coming months.

The Monetary Policy Council decided, Wednesday, to keep interest rates at the same level since their change in January to 3.75 percent. Back then, however, the Council forewarned that there would be further hikes.

Two factors which will have an effect on the extent of interest rate hikes include the Monetary Policy Council’s forecast drop in prices of food and oil.

“We expect that the dynamics of food […] and oil prices [will] stop having such overt effects in the second half of the year and will hopefully stem consumer inflation,” Belka told Polish Radio. (jb)