(Bloomberg) -- Poland’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged for a seventh straight month as concerns persist that inflation will flare up later this year despite a so-far sluggish economic recovery. 

The Monetary Policy Council left the benchmark rate at 5.75% on Thursday, in line with forecasts of all 27 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Policymakers are holding borrowing costs unchanged even as inflation has dropped to below the midpoint of their tolerance range, while industrial output posted its biggest drop in almost a year.

The central bank “will continue to take all necessary actions in order to ensure macroeconomic and financial stability,” the MPC said in a statement. The path of inflation is littered with “substantial uncertainty” created by energy prices and hikes in public-sector wages. 

Governor Adam Glapinski has said he won’t bend to pressure to reduce borrowing costs as he’s concerned that higher tax on food and potential end to energy price caps could reignite inflation. And the pressure might be starting to grow — Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said last month that lower rates would help the budget and the economy. 

Glapinski will explain the decision at his news conference, planned for 3 p.m. in Warsaw on Friday. 

“During his news conference, Glapinski will likely focus on inflation risks in the coming months,” economists at ING Bank Slaski SA, led by Rafal Benecki, said in a note following the decision. “We expect that rates will remain unchanged by the end of 2024 and the easing cycle will start in 2025, when rates may be reduced by a total of 75-100 basis points.”

The zloty was little changed by the decision, trading 0.3% stronger against the euro on Thursday.

--With assistance from Barbara Sladkowska and Piotr Bujnicki.

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