In March-April, Ukraine will experience a surge in inflation due to the collapse of the hryvnia exchange rate
Kyiv, March 07 (Navigator, Denis Andreev) – In March-April, Ukraine expects a sharp surge in inflation caused by the collapse of the hryvnia, writes the Kommersant-Ukraine newspaper.
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The first bell already rang in February, when consumer prices rose by 0,6%. However, since dollar quotations jumped by about 10% during the same time, it is obvious that prices have not yet fully reflected this increase.
“Devaluation affects most product groups, including food, with a time lag. Most likely, the main growth will be recorded in March-April,” explained Elana Belan, chief economist at Dragon Capital Investment Company.
In addition, a significant increase in utility tariffs is expected in the coming months at the request of the International Monetary Fund. The last time gas tariffs for the population, for which the fund has claims, were increased in Ukraine back in 2010 - by 50%. Then this led to a general increase in utility tariffs by 13,8%.
“Based on the indicators at the beginning of the year, as well as from expectations of correction of utility tariffs, we can assume that by the end of the year the price increase will reach 8%,” predicts Belan. A similar forecast – growth of 7-8% – was expressed last week by the Minister of Economic Development and Trade Pavel Sheremeta.
At the end of last year, consumer prices increased by only 0,5%, and significant inflation was last observed in Ukraine back in 2010 (9,1%).