The inflation of the Ukrainian Hryvnia accelerated again in March to 8.5 percent from 1.7 percent in March 2020.
The growth of consumer prices has grown another point from 7.5 percent in February to 8.5 percent in March. Overall, Ukraine has seen a sharp rise in inflation starting from December 2020, where it was at 5 percent, Interfax Ukraine writes.
The Ukrainian government expects inflation of 7.3 percent in 2021, while the National Bank of Ukraine predicts it at 7 percent flat. According to NBU, the rise of inflation is more than expected with the first turning point coming in August or September.
As of now the currency exchange rate rests heavily upon the IMF tranches being paid out to Ukraine, however tensions between IMF and president Volodimir Zelensky and the Servant of the People government still remains.
NBU remains positive, that tranches might be paid out to Ukraine this year, according to Unian, however, at a meeting between Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and the G7 Ambassadors, they stressed the importance of fulfilling the agreement in the standby arrangement with IMF.
“G7 Ambassadors met PM Denys Shmyhal yesterday for a wide-ranging discussion. They reaffirmed support for Ukraine’s reform efforts and the importance of meeting the agreed conditions for the IMF stand-by arrangement and EU Macro-Financial Assistance,” the G7 Ambassadors said on Twitter on Saturday.
Another question for the partnership between IMF and Ukraine also remains unanswered: Will NBU be able to maintain independence?
