The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has decided to raise the policy interest rate from 8 to 8.5 percent.
In an attempt to stop inflation from rising, the National Bank of Ukraine decided to raise interest rates by half a point, following the inflation rate’s hike to above 10 percent – way above the target.
According to Kyiv Post, NBU will maintain the new policy rate at 8.5 percent until April next year, where they expect the inflation rate to be back at 5 percent, which is within the target for NBU.
Raising the key interest rate will make loans by banks more expensive, encouraging consumers to save money instead of consuming, which in turn will help slow down the inflation rate.
Inflation has been made a global product by the COVID-19 pandemic. In Ukraine it is expected to slow down in the end of the year, but the cold seasons might still prove hard for many Ukrainians, as the prices on electricity and gas has risen dramatically.
