PM Shmyhal: Inflation will not exceed 8-9% in 2023

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that inflation will not exceed 8-9% in 2023.

"We managed to change the situation in 2023. We have inflation at the level of 8-9%. We will see in a year, but I am convinced that it will not be higher. We have 40 billion of international reserves. This is a record in our history. The budget deficit remains at 20%, but we have found a way to compensate for it," Shmyhal said at the Kyiv International Economic Forum, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to him, last year, international partners provided Ukraine with $32 billion in grants and preferential loans. This year Ukraine expects to receive $42 billion in direct budget financing; this is not including military support and other humanitarian contributions from partner countries.

"We understand that this year we will get GDP growth of 3% or more. We are working on it together to make it happen. We are observing a gradual production recovery,” said the Prime Minister.

He also reminded that last year the economy fell by almost 30%, Ukraine lost 35% of imports, inflation was at the level of 26%, production fell by almost 37%, the budget deficit reached almost 20%.

As reported by Ukrinform, in the spring of 2023, the National Bank improved the inflation forecast for the current year from 14.8% to 10.6%, and the economic growth forecast in 2023 - from 0.3% to 2%.