FinMin says Poland has financial resources to cushion Omicron blows

Poland's finance minister said on Tuesday that the country's public finances are in good shape and that it has the resources to create financial cushions should the Omicron coronavirus variant threaten the economy.

Speaking on private TV broadcaster Polsat News, Tadeusz Koscinski also expressed concern over the introduction of lockdowns in other countries, which he said could disrupt trade and the orders of sub-contractors in those countries, as well as Polish exports.

"We are satisfied with the level of the budget surplus for now," he said. "Of course we do not know what Omicron really means, if it is similar to Delta or more infectious. There are fears that it may be worse than it at the moment."

Koscinski went on to say Poland had adequate resources that could mitigate threats to the economy caused by the variant.

"Public finances and the economy in Poland are working well, of course there are fears in relation to the new coronavirus mutation, but we have the resources to create financial cushions," he said.

He also said that the government's so-called 'anti-inflation shield,' aim was not to reduce inflation but to provide a buffer to help Poles cope with a forecast peak in inflation in January-February 2022. He said a second purpose of the shield was to cool inflationary expectations.

"Certainly those external factors that cause inflation in Poland are starting to disappear: supply and demand are starting to even out, I hope the price of oil will not grow so much. Then inflationary expectations will cool and we can return to normal levels," he said.