Ukrainian govt proposes amendments to 2015 budget
Xinhua, February 17, 2015 Adjust font size:
The Ukrainian government on Monday proposed that the parliament should approve amendments to the state budget for 2015, given the impact of the ongoing crisis in the country.
Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalia Jaresko said the amendments, which were discussed during talks between the Ukrainian authorities and the visiting mission from the International Monetary Fund last week, include the revision of government's projection of the country's economic performance this year.
Currently, the cabinet estimates that Ukraine's gross domestic product (GDP) would contract 5.5 percent in 2015, down from its December forecast of 4.3 percent decline, Jaresko said.
In the same time, the budget deficit is expected to reach 4.1 percent of the GDP this year compared with 3.7 percent projected earlier, she added.
Jaresko said inflation in Ukraine in 2015 will be higher than expected, and the budget amendments are forecasting an exchange rate of 21.7 hryvnya, the local currency, to the U.S. dollar rather than 17 hryvnya per dollar initially estimated.
The amendments to the budget will be presented to the parliament on Tuesday. Endite