Poland's inflation at its highest in 21 years says think-tank

Poland’s inflation rate, which has a hit 21-year high, is the result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Polish Economic Institute (PIE), an advisory body to the government, said on Friday in reaction to the country's March CPI data.

Last month, annual consumer inflation settled at 11.0 percent, the statistics office GUS said earlier on Friday.

PIE analysts said in their report that, as a result of Russia's war on Ukraine, the prices of energy increased by 24.3 percent and fuel by 33.5 percent.

"Food prices also rose significantly and the pace of price growth accelerated from 7.6 to 9.2 percent," they wrote.

According to PIE, this is an effect of the Russian embargo on the trade in fertilisers and the interruption of grain exports from Ukraine due to the Russian sea blockade. They also added that core inflation remained stable at 6.8 percent.

The analysts also said that the March CPI rate was the highest since 2000 and that they expected a further increase in prices in the coming months.

According to PIE, inflation will peak in the summer and will reach around 12.5-13.0 percent.