Highlight: State debt - STAT DEBT: CAN THE GOVERNMENT AVOID DEFAULT?
Politics: In January, Ukraine requested the IMF for an financial support, supported by the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), to replace the existing Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).
Real Sector: The industrial output in December contracted by 17.9% yoy due to military conflict in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
Energy sector: The Cabinet of Ministers cancelled the possibility of selling oil of Ukrainian origin at oil auctions in Ukraine with a 15% discount from the world price.
Agriculture:Gross crop harvest in 2014 increased by 2.4% to 63.8 m t.
External sector: Current account deficit in December expanded to USD 0.7 bn mainly due to wider merchandise trade deficit.
Fiscal policy: Underfinanced capital fiscal outlays mayundermine Ukraine’s economic recovery and medium-term growth prospects.
Social policy: In December 2014, the number of families that received housing and utility subsidies increased by only 3.5% yoy despite sharp increase in housing and utility tariffs and much smaller growth of household income.
Labour market: In December 2014, average wage dropped by 13.6% yoy in real terms due to accelerated inflation and the introduction of military fee.
Monetary policy: In January, consumer inflation reached 28.5% yoy.
Exchange rate:In January, exchange rate paid by importers and consumers for foreign currency operations increasingly diverged from exchange rate recorded at “official” interbank market
State debt: In January, the Government repaid the regular coupon at USD 120 m of Eurobonds maturing in 2017.