July 30 (Reuters) - Inflation in Poland hit a 10-year high in July, a flash estimate from the statistics office showed on Friday, coming in above analysts' estimates due in part to rising fuel prices.
CPI was 5.0% on a year-on-year basis and 0.4% month-on-month. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected readings of 4.7% year-on-year and 0.1% month-on-month. In June CPI was 4.4% year-on-year.
Central and eastern Europe has been facing some of the highest inflation on the continent, but in contrast to central banks in the Czech Republic and Hungary the National Bank of Poland has maintained a dovish stance, with Governor Adam Glapinski saying it will not rush into rate hikes.
Glapinski has said that the spike in inflation is temporary and driven by factors beyond the control of monetary policy, such as rising fuel costs.
"The source of the inflation surprise was a slightly stronger than estimated increase in fuel prices... as well as core inflation," Bank Millennium analysts said in a note.
"In our opinion, the inflationary pressure will remain at an elevated level and the following months will not bring a drop in the CPI index."
Analysts polled by Reuters expect the Polish central bank to start raising rates in the first quarter of 2022.
On Tuesday, the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) raised its base rate by 30 basis points to 1.2% and said it would take "firm steps" on a monthly basis to rein in higher-than-expected inflation.
(Reporting by Anna Banacka and Anna Pruchnicka, writing by Alan Charlish, Editing by William Maclean and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
