Polish bank raises lending rates

WARSAW, Poland, June 27 (UPI) -- The Polish National Bank is raising interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to slow inflation, the head of the bank said.

National bank President Slawomir Skrzypek said Poland's inflation rate was the lowest in the region and that much the country's inflation was imported with rising oil prices, Poland Radio reported.

Skrzypek said the Polish economy wouldn't be spared from economic trends throughout Europe.

Poland could expect a decline in economic growth to 4 percent of the country's gross domestic product, by the end of 2008, the report said.