Flash estimate: inflation in July at 15.5% year on year

The 15.5% increase in consumer prices is the highest spike since March 1997, which was over 25 years ago.

Compared to June of this year, consumer prices in Poland increased by 0.4%

Experts interviewed by Polish Press Agency expected July's inflation at 15.4% yoy and at 0.4% mom.

According to Statistics Poland, in July 2022, prices of non-alcoholic beverages increased by 15.3% year on year. Prices of electricity, gas and other fuels went up by 36.6%, and fuels used for personal transport - by 36.8%.

Economist Alicja Defratyka, author of ciekaweliczny.pl project, told TVN24 on Friday she was not too optimistic after seeing July's flash estimate. "I'm afraid this data might dull (our - edit.) vigilance, as I assume the government will be boasting: look, it's (the inflation - edit.) not growing anymore. But the prices are still growing, maybe not as fast, but we still have a colossal inflation," she said.

Defratyka added that there was a number of matters of concern that would happen this autumn. "The war is still anybody's guess, cutting off gas supplies, we still don't know what will happen to food prices - we may know that ships are bound depart from Ukraine, but we also know how unpredictable Putin can be and he might break all of these agreements," the expert said.

"Now it seems we've reached the peak and inflation should be going down, but the 14th pensions are to be paid out in August - over 11 billion zlotys will be transfered to the market. In September, monet from the coal subsidy - another 11 billion zlotys - will hit the market, as it doesn't necessarily have to be spend on coal. ... We have credit vacation and many other shields, bonuses, the extended anti-inflationary shield, which will cost approx. 40 billion zlotys for this year only. All this money will end up on the market, so I wouldn't be too happy about it," Defratyka said.