National Bank of Ukraine: the crisis is deeper and longer than predicted

The National Bank of Ukraine recognized that the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic will be deeper and longer than previously predicted. This was stated following a meeting of the NBU Committee on Monetary Policy, the correspondent of the news agency reports with reference to the press service of the regulator. The National Bank notes that a surge in unemployment and a weak dynamics of wage growth will slow the recovery in consumption. In addition, investment demand will also be depressed, in particular due to deteriorating financial performance and enterprise expectations. Accordingly, the view was expressed that Ukraine's economy needed both fiscal and monetary incentives. Recall that the Ukrainian government believes that the country's economy will fall by 4.9% this year, and the IMF's main lender predicts a fall of 8.2%. Recently, the Fund expected a fall of 7.7%, but in June it became known that IMF experts revised the indicator in the direction of deterioration. We also note that the National Bank said that Ukraine is waiting for the peak of the crisis in the second quarter.