The National Bank of Ukraine has raised its discount rate to 13.5%, the NBU said on Thursday, UNN reports.
The Board of the National Bank of Ukraine has decided to raise the key policy rate to 13.5% per annum. The decision is aimed at maintaining the stability of the foreign exchange market, keeping inflation expectations under control, and gradually slowing inflation to the 5% target
It is noted that in recent months, inflation has been growing faster than the NBU's forecast. At the same time, inflation is expected to slow down in 2025 and continue to reach the 5% target, and the volume of international financial assistance in 2025 will be sufficient to finance the budget deficit without issuing debt and maintain a stable situation in the foreign exchange market.
At the same time, the NBU said that a full-scale war remains a key risk to inflation and economic development.
"In order to maintain the stability of the foreign exchange market, prevent the imbalance of expectations and gradually bring inflation to the target, the NBU Board decided to raise the key policy rate by 0.5 percentage points to 13.5%," the statement said.
The NBU, as stated, "sees the need to tighten interest rate policy to reverse the inflation trend and bring inflation to the 5% target on the policy horizon."
According to the regulator, maintaining the stability of the foreign exchange market will remain an important factor in returning inflation to a downward trajectory. Given sufficient international assistance, the NBU's ability to compensate for the structural shortage of foreign currency in the private sector and smooth out excessive exchange rate fluctuations will remain strong.
"The NBU will continue to tighten its interest rate policy at the upcoming meetings of the monetary policy board if signs of sustained inflationary pressures and the threat of imbalances in inflation expectations persist," the NBU said.
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