On Thursday, April 17, 2025, the board of the National Bank of Ukraine decided to leave the discount rate unchanged at 15.5%. This was reported by the press service of the regulator.
"In order to maintain the stability of the foreign exchange market, keep expectations under control and gradually bring inflation to the target of 5% on the policy horizon, the Board of the National Bank decided to keep the discount rate at 15.5%," the statement said.
Inflation during the first quarter of 2025 was expected to rise and reached 14.6% y/y in March. The effects of the worst harvests of the past, higher prices for excisable products, increased expenditures of enterprises on energy and labor costs, as well as strong consumer demand.
It is noted that domestic price pressure remains tangible, but the monthly dynamics shows signs of its weakening. This was facilitated, in particular, by the NBU measures in monetary policy.
In March-April, there was an increase in interest rates both on government bonds in national currency and on time deposits in hryvnia for more than three months, which was reflected in an increase in demand for them.
In particular, there was a noticeable progress in the growth of household deposits with a term of more than three months in banks of all groups.
"A balanced monetary policy will allow to consolidate these positive trends, will contribute to further improvement of expectations of economic agents and return of inflation to the trajectory of sustainable slowdown already this year," the NBU emphasized.
The NBU's updated macro forecast provides for keeping the discount rate at 15.5% over the next few months and returning to the cycle of interest rate policy easing after passing the peak of the price surge and reducing the risk of inflation consolidation at the double-digit level.
In case of strengthening of this risk, the NBU will keep the discount rate at the current level longer and is ready to take additional measures, the regulator summarized.
