Members of the monetary policy committee of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) after a meeting on February 28, 2018 were equally of the opinion that there are no grounds for toughening the monetary policy in April, if the refinancing rate is increased to 17%. “At present, all members of the committee have come to an agreement that if the refinancing rate is raised to 17%, the need for its further increase in April is not obvious,” the committee said in the minutes of the February meeting, posted on the NBU website.
The National Bank recalled that at the January meeting, most members of the committee pointed out the existence of a probability of a further increase in the refinancing rate in the short term, in the absence of significant signs of a reduction in inflationary pressures.
During the last meeting, some members of the committee also said that previous decisions to tighten monetary policy had not yet fully transformed into an equivalent increase in rates on deposits of individuals, although they stopped the downward trend in rates.
At the same time, the members of the committee said that the inflation risks that were discussed at the meeting in January remain relevant. Among these risks are the high vulnerability of the Ukrainian economy due to the delay in attracting the next loan tranche under the program of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the growth of inflation expectations of economic agents, as well as the significant consumer demand growth pace.
