The National Bank of Ukraine raised it key policy rate to 18%, from 17.5%, the sixth hike in one year.

The National Bank of Ukraine raised it key policy rate to 18%, from 17.5%, the sixth hike in one year. One year ago, Ukraine’s prime rate was 12.5%. Yakiv Smoliy, the central bank governor, cited inflation fears to justify the hike. He told reporters Thursday: “Carrying out a more stringent monetary policy will allow leveling out the impact of these risks and return inflation to the borders of the target range at the end of 2019 and reach a medium-term target of 5% in 2020.” With interest rates high, central bank figures show that most companies self-finance capital investment.