Poland's current level of interest rates is optimal, says central bank's Duda

WARSAW (Reuters) - The current level of interest rates is optimal, said central banker Iwona Duda, quoted by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna on Wednesday.

At its November meeting the Monetary Policy Council (MPC) kept its main interest rate at 6.75% for the second month in a row, and National Bank of Poland (NBP) Governor Adam Glapinski said the rate hike cycle was being paused but could continue.

"... in the current situation, in the light of the available data and forecasts, especially the NBP inflation projection, the level of interest rates is optimal," Duda, a member of the rate setting Monetary Policy council, told the daily.

New central bank projections forecast inflation in Poland will not return to the NBP's target range of 1.5%-3.5% until the third quarter of 2025.

"The current rate hikes are working, although their impact is not yet fully visible, because it will take several quarters," MPC member said.

(Reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)