Lowering interest rates in Poland by a total of 1 percentage point in September and October was a mistake, rate-setter Ludwik Kotecki told broadcaster Biznes 24 on Thursday.

"I think it was a mistake to lower the rate by 1 percentage point at a time when inflation is at 8% and there are lots of risks for inflation," he said.

In September the bank surprised markets by cutting rates by a much larger than expected 75 basis points and in October it cut it by another 25 points. The main interest rate is currently 5.75%, while inflation in September was at 8.2% year on year.

Kotecki said that monetary policy should be cautious because it was not known what decisions the new government, which will be formed after Sunday's parliamentary elections, might make.

"... we don't know what will happen in the coming months, especially how the new government will approach the anti-inflation shield, what the tariffs will be (for electricity and gas)," he said.

"(now) in mid-October we don't know what it will look like, so we should be careful when it comes to interest rates." (Reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Alex Richardson)