UNIAN
The National Bank of Ukraine expects growth in consumer price inflation in the second quarter of 2015 up to 50% on an annualized basis, the Director of the Department of Monetary Policy and Economic Analysis of the NBU Sergiy Nikolaichuk said on Thursday.
According to data published this week by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, inflation in Ukraine in March 2015 compared to February 2015 accelerated by 10.8%, and in annual terms to 45.8%.
Such inflation, according to Nikolaichuk, is mainly attributed to the hike in utility tariffs. Other components of consumer inflation, including the prices of goods and services, will likely not grow, he said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, consumer prices in Ukraine increased by 24.9% in 2014 against 0.5% in 2013.
Experts say some slowdown in consumer price growth by the end of 2015 is possible provided there is a stabilization of the foreign exchange rate and a good harvest, with the annual rate of inflation projected to decline below 30%.
The Cabinet of Ministers is considering three scenarios for Ukraine's economy in 2015: pessimistic, with GDP falling by 11.9% and inflation of 42.8%, and two more optimistic scenarios, according to which the fall of the economy will be in the range of 5.5 to 8.6% and inflation ranging from 26.7% to 38.1%.
According to the forecast of the National Bank of Ukraine, the decline in country’s GDP in 2015 will be 7.5%, with an inflation rate of 30%.