Kyiv cuts interest rate after inflation slows:
By RFE/RL
Ukraine's central bank has trimmed its benchmark interest rate, citing a "steady disinflation trend," or a slowdown in inflation.
The National Bank of Ukraine announced on May 26 that the key policy rate was cut to 18 percent from 19 percent.
The rate was cut from 22 percent to 19 percent in April.
"The disinflation was defined by weak domestic consumer demand, tight monetary policy, and an appreciation of the hryvnya [currency] in recent months," the bank said in a statement.
In the first quarter of this year, gross domestic product grew by a "modest" 0.1 percent from a year earlier, the bank said, "reflecting weaker recovery in domestic demand.
The bank kept its 2016 inflation goal of 12 percent, after consumer prices rose 9.8 percent from a year earlier in April, slowing from almost 21 percent the previous month. (w/Bloomberg)