KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine’s central bank on Thursday left its key interest rate steady at 15.5% for the third consecutive meeting as inflation is expected to continue to ease, but it said that wartime risks will constrain economic growth.
In a statement, it said Ukraine’s economic growth would slow to 2.1% this year compared with 2.9% in 2024.
The central bank previously predicted 2025 economic growth at 3.1% but cut its forecast due to more intense Russian attacks in recent months.
Governor Andriy Pyshnyi said that inflation had started to decline as expected in June and would continue to slow significantly by the end of the year.
“Holding the key policy rate steady at 15.5% is an important prerequisite for a sustainable slowdown of inflation toward its 5% target,” Pyshnyi told a news briefing.
The central bank expects inflation to reach 9.7% at the end of this year and to slow to 6.6% in 2026 and to 5% in 2027.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash; editing by Mark Heinrich and Tomasz Janowski)
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