Highlight: Debt restructuring
Politics: On August 31, the Parliament approved in the first reading amendments to the Constitution that establish a framework for decentralization of power in Ukraine.
Real Sector:Improvement in many sectors is recorded. Industrial production in July declined by 13.4% yoy as compared to 18.1% yoy a month before
Energy sector: The Naftogaz lacks funds to purchase enough gas for heating season.
Agriculture:Gross agricultural production in July increased by 1.9% yoy due to good harvest of grains, rape, vegetables and fruits after declining for six months in a row.
External sector: Current account balance in July was positive at USD 0.1 bn due to small deficit of trade in goods and services.
Fiscal policy: The State Budget for 2016 is likely to be based on new Tax Code. The design of new tax system is still unknown.
Privatisation: The Government again postponed privatisation.
Social policy: The Government announced plans to increase social standards, including minimum wage and minimum pension, since September 2015.
Labour market:Average wage in July increased by 23.1% to 4390 UAH due to indexation for inflation.
Monetary policy: Headline CPI in August dropped by 0.8%, which reflected continued seasonal drop in prices for fruit and vegetables and lower bread prices due to falling grain prices.
Exchange rate: In August, interbank exchange rate remained in UAH 21-23 per USD range set by the NBU despite almost complete absence of the NBU interventions in the market.
State debt:In late August, the Ministry of Finance finally agreed with the Committee of Ukraine’s International Commercial Creditors on basic parameters of sovereign debtrestructuring.
