Pressuring politicians to move to unblock IMF funding, central bank Governor Yakiv Smoliy warned

Pressuring politicians to move to unblock IMF funding, central bank Governor Yakiv Smoliy warned Thursday the bank may further tighten monetary policy and introduce new limits on foreign exchange if government fails to get an expected $1.9 IMF tranche this year. After a series of hikes over the last six months, Ukraine now has Europe’s highest key interest rate. With the National Bank of Ukraine forecasting 2018 inflation at 8.9%, Smoliy said the inflation goal for 2020 is 5%.