Inflation in Poland will probably reach its peak either in the third or fourth quarter of 2022 and then will start to fall, a deputy finance minister has said.
Piotr Patkowski also said the predicted peak for inflation would occur “if the current geopolitical situation does not change”.
“It seems that this moment is not so distant,” Patkowski told a Development Vision forum, and added that the period preceding this point would be marked by huge uncertainty.
But, he also said that 1.5-2% had been chipped off inflation by anti-inflation shields.
At the end of 2021, the government rolled out its first “anti-inflation shield” to combat Poland’s rising inflation rate. It included a VAT cut on food products to 0% from the standard 5% rate, while VAT on fuels went down to 8% from the standard level of 23%.
The shield was to last until the end of July, but the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, decided in early June to extend it till October 31.
According to Poland’s Central Statistical Office (GUS), the prices of consumer goods and services increased by 13.9% YoY and by 1.7% MoM in May. (The First News/Business World Magazine)