30/03/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - National bank interest rate remains critically high

National Bank of Ukraine

03/30/2015 Daily Highlights by the "Digests & Analytics – Ukraine" news agency

Topics from the media and social networks

• National bank interest rate remains critically high.
• The trial of the Communist Party is retarded in the court.
• Fighting in Shirokine and removal of volunteers. "Blindness" of OSCE observers.
• Debt of Naftogaz, which Kolomoisky was talking about has been found.
• President Poroshenko was unable to convert his words about the "cynical Bandera" into the joke.
• Without debt restructuring Ukraine will not be able to receive new tranches from the IMF.
• Supermarkets monopolistic collusion during the currency panic.
• Gazprom needs the Ukrainian market, and it is willing to give a discount.
• Soros will invest $1 billion in Ukraine.

Key Events of Ukraine

• President Poroshenko enacted the decision of the National Security Council from January, 25 2015 on the planning and formation of state defense contracts.
• According to the International Labor Organization, the unemployment rate in Ukraine at the end of 2015 grew to 9.7% of the total economically active population, it’s more than 1.8 million people.
• Antimonopoly committee came to the conclusion that the owners of the major retailers have raised prices by 20-30% or more as a result of anti-competitive monopolistic collusion and ordered them to reduce prices to a level that was before the period of high demand for basic commodities during the panic on the currency market in February 2015.
• Judge Nechitailo was re-appointed as a Chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court.
• Interior Ministry announced a month of voluntary surrender of weapons. Persons who will voluntary surrender weapons and special equipment will be exempt from criminal liability.
• Financial results of "Naftogaz" for 2012-2013 were published.
• National Bank downgraded the forecast of decline in GDP by the end of the year to 7.5%, the parameters of inflation projected at 30%. The trade deficit has decreased, but with the fall in import export is falling as well. The trade balance for two months has deficit of more than $ 1.6 billion. This is better than the result of the previous year, which amounted to nearly $ 4.1 billion.
• NBU has decided to retain the interest rate at 30% as well as other parameters of the monetary system.
• On Monday the official exchange rate is calculated on the results of the interbank session: 23.44 UAH / $ (-0.07 UAH), UAH 25.45 / € (-0,35 UAH) 4.06 UAH / 10 RUR(-0 11 UAH).

Ukraine at War

• Fighting resumed after the departure of the OSCE mission from Shirokino.
• Ukraine has officially registered about 1.2 million internally displaced persons. The UN estimates that more than 5 million people needs help, including those who remained on the occupied territories.
• OSCE observers have not received a report on withdrawal of heavy weapons from LNR militants.

Ukraine and the World

• NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg stressed once again that the doors of the Alliance are open for Ukraine, and its application will be considered. The West must help its partners to counter threats from Russia.
• Russian authorities have refused to recognize diplomatic immunity of Ukrainian deputy Savchenko, issued her by PACE session on January 26, 2015.
• Attorney General Shokin said that the international investigation team believes the main version of the disaster of flight MH-17 in the sky over the Donbas is destruction by the Russian missile from air defense systems "Buk-M".

The Trends

• In the absence of real actions by the authorities of Ukraine to establish e-government, volunteers began creating it. Involved in the process are leading programmers, including one of the heads of Privatbank Dubilet.