* Central bank keeps key rate at 1.5 pct, as expected
* Governor say stable rates are good for economy
* Says zloty strength has not hurt exports so far
(Adds quotes, details)
By Pawel Florkiewicz and Marcin Goettig
WARSAW, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Interest rates in Poland probably won't change until the end of 2018, central bank Governor Adam Glapinski said on Wednesday, adding that the strength of the zloty has so far not hurt the robustly growing economy.
The central bank' Monetary Policy Council left its benchmark rate at a record low of 1.50 percent on Wednesday, a level still much higher than the neighbouring euro zone.
"I would argue ... we will not change rates until the end of 2018 if trends are unchanged," Glapinski told reporters at a conference after the rate decision.
Glapinski said that rates might remain unchanged beyond the end of 2018, arguing that a stable cost of credit was helping to stabilise the economy and anchor inflation expectations.
"It would be good to maintain it, if external factors allow it," he said.
Poland's economy grew by 4.6 percent in 2017, supported by a 5.4 percent rise in investment and record-low unemployment. Inflation slowed to 2.0 percent in December from 2.5 percent in November, despite a pick-up in corporate wages.
Following the December slowdown in inflation, economists polled by Reuters pushed out their expectations for the next rate increase to the first quarter of 2019 .
The central bank targets inflation at 2.5 percent, with fluctuations of plus or minus 1 percentage point allowed.
Glapinski also said the healthy Polish economy has translated into gains by the zloty , but he said that so far there were no signs the Polish currency's strength was hurting exports.
"One of the MPC members voiced concerns regarding the excessive strength of the zloty, that it could hamper exports. But we are not observing this. Exports post very good results," Glapinski said.
The zloty has gained over 20 percent against the dollar since the start of last year, becoming one of the best performing currencies in the world.
The governor said that the political situation around Poland, particularly the conflict of the Polish government with the European Commission and launching of the so-called Art. 7 procedure against Poland, has not affected the economy.
"Let's be real, these political issues have no impact on the functioning of the economy and finances," Glapinski said.
(Additional reporting by Pawel Sobczak and Bartosz Chmielewski, writing by Marcin Goettig, editing by Larry King)
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