NBU keeps key policy rate at 15.5%

The Board of the National Bank has decided to keep the key policy rate at 15.5%.

The NBU has said this in a statement, the Ukrainian News agency reports.

It is noted that in April, inflation accelerated to 15.1% in annual terms.

NBU estimates indicate a further increase in annual inflation in May, which slightly exceeded the current forecast trajectory.

Food prices were additionally affected by spring frosts, which affected the cost of the first batches of vegetables and fruits of the new harvest.

However, after the slowdown in core inflation in April, according to NBU estimates, it continued to accelerate in May close to the forecast.

As before, fundamental inflationary pressure was fueled by stable consumer demand and a further increase in business production costs, in particular for labor costs.

Inflation expectations of economic agents, although somewhat deteriorated, remained quite stable and significantly lower than the current inflation rate.

Search query statistics also indicated a further decrease in attention to the topic of inflation.

These trends were also facilitated by the NBU's measures to ensure the protection of hryvnia savings from inflationary depreciation and to maintain the stability of the foreign exchange market.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in March 2021 the NBU raised the key policy rate to 6.5%, in April - to 7%, in July - to 8%, in September - to 8.5%, in December - to 9%, in January 2022 - to 10%, in June 2022 - to 25%.

In July 2023, the NBU reduced the key policy rate from 25% to 22%, in September - to 20%, in October - to 16%, in December - to 15%, in March 2024 - to 14.5%, in April - to 13.5%, in June - to 13%, in December 2024 it increased to 13.5%, in January 2025 - to 14.5%, in March - to 15.5%.

At the same time, the Board of Directors of the Bank of russia on March 21 decided to maintain the key policy rate at 21.00% per annum.