Ukraine

Ukraine's central bank said on Thursday it would keep its main interest rate steady at 25% as inflation remained high so far this year, Reuters reported. The bank has kept the interest rate at 25% since June 2022 as it sought to keep inflation under control following Russia's large-scale invasion, which has disrupted supply chains and battered the economy.

Ukraine won a significant boost in its attempt to set aside a $3 billion defaulted bond after the UK Supreme Court ruled that judges need to consider the backdrop of Russia’s campaign of threatening behavior in the run-up to the annexation of Crimea, Bloomberg News reported. Britain’s top court declared that a judge should pore over Russian attempts to strong-arm Ukraine into issuing the bond, giving the green light to a full-blown London trial.

Ukraine's gross domestic product fell by 26% in February after a 32% drop in January, the economy ministry said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in a statement that economic activity had recovered in February because of a better situation in the energy sector and a lower energy deficit. "The 'energy war' won by Ukraine added to the optimism of businesses, which improved their sentiment about the future and intensified its activities," Svyrydenko said.

The World Bank on Friday announced $2.5 billion in additional grant financing from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID )to support Ukraine's budget and maintain essential services, Reuters reported. The latest financing under the World Bank's Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance in Ukraine(PEACE) project lifts the total to $20.6 billion and will support salaries in core government functions and sectors such as healthcare and education while allowing Kyiv to pay pensions and support internally displaced people.

Ukraine's monthly consumer price inflation quickened to 0.8% in January compared with the previous month, driven by higher food prices, the State Statistics Service said on Thursday, Reuters reported. It said in a statement that food prices rose by 1.4% last month because of increases in the price of fruits and vegetables. Monthly inflation stood flat at 0.7% in November and December 2022.

Ukraine will need an additional $17 billion in financing this year for energy repairs, de-mining and to rebuild infrastructure, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Friday, Reuters reported. He told a government meeting that five high-voltage substations in the central, southern and south-west regions were hit during Russia's air attacks on Thursday. The energy sector has been severely damaged following four months of Russian missile and drones attacks.

Ukraine's central bank said on Thursday it would keep its main interest rate unchanged at 25% as inflation pressure remained high due to continued Russian missile strikes on critical energy infrastructure, Reuters reported. The central bank said it expected very sluggish economic growth and a bigger trade deficit this year as the economy adapts to a war-time reality of regular power outages and disrupted supply chains and logistics, Reuters reported.

The World Bank on Tuesday said it had approved an additional financing package totaling $610 million to address urgent relief and recovery needs in Ukraine as the war with Russia continues, Reuters reported. The package includes an additional $500 million loan from the World Bank's International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) that is supported by a guarantee from Britain, and a new project to restore and improve access to health care and address war-related needs for health services, the global lender said.

Europe has been hit hard by the fallout from the war in Ukraine, putting its companies on the front line of what has become a war of economic attrition between the West and Russia that is playing out alongside the real war in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported. The U.K. is suffering more than other big countries in Europe, economists say. Inflation is running in the double digits, higher than all of its Group of Seven industrialized peers with the exception of Italy; gross domestic product shrank 0.2% in the third quarter year-over-year, setting the U.K.