WARSAW, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Poland's natural gas prices, set by state energy regulator URE, should for the time being remain flat, the watchdog's acting head Marek Woszczyk said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, gas monopoly PGNiG's deputy head Radoslaw Dudzinski was quoted as saying the company will likely ask the regulator for a rise in gas tariffs as oil prices rose to over $100 per barrel.
"If I were to decide today I wouldn't see a need to hike natural gas tariffs, but I want to stress that no motion from PGNiG has been filed," Woszczyk said.
The prices PGNiG pays for imported natural gas are susceptible to a weakening zloty and rising oil prices, while tariffs it can charge are set by URE and often are lower than the cost of imported gas.
Poland imports about two-thirds of the gas it uses from Russia based on long term contracts with a price based on historic oil prices. (Reporting by Maciej Onoszko; Writing by Patryk Wasilewski; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)