Adam Glapiński, head of the National Bank of Poland (NBP), was speaking after the Polish central bank's rate-setting Monetary Policy Council this week raised key interest rates for the fourth time in as many months in a bid to combat surging prices.
The reference rate went up by 50 basis points to 2.25 percent, from 1.75 percent, amid rising inflation, which hit 7.8 percent in November.
Glapiński told a news conference in Warsaw on Wednesday that inflation in Poland was set to peak above 8 percent around the middle of this year.
He also told reporters that there was room for further rate increases.
He said he would recommend at least one more hike of 50 basis points in the months ahead, adding that future rate moves would be shaped by incoming monetary policy makers.
Poland's current team of rate setters end their term this year.
"An interest rate of up to 3 percent will not have a negative impact on the economy,” Glapiński told reporters on Wednesday.
Glapiński, who resisted calls to start raising rates for most of 2021, has faced mounting criticism from the opposition for letting inflation surge to its highest level this century, the Bloomberg news agency reported.
He is seeking reappointment for a second, six-year term in the middle of this year.
The Polish central bank expects that inflation in the country will average 7.6 percent in 2022, rising from 2021, Glapiński was quoted as saying at the end of December.
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Source: PAP, bloomberg.com