Ukraine’s central bank cut its main interest rate by half a percentage point to 17% on Thursday

Ukraine’s central bank cut its main interest rate by half a percentage point to 17% on Thursday, citing falling inflation trend. After inflation fell to 9% in June, the central bank forecasts that inflation will hit 6.3% in December. “The National Bank of Ukraine continues its cycle of monetary policy easing, as inflation is declining toward the target of 5%,” Governor Yakiv Smoliy told journalists Thursday in Kyiv. Referring to the overwhelming lead of President Zelenskiy’s party in Sunday’s Rada elections, he added: “The results of parliamentary elections are predictable. The risk of uncertainty is gradually moving to the background.