“In order to ensure the efficient functioning of the economy, the National Bank of Ukraine not only maintains price stability, but also promotes sustainable development of the financial market of Ukraine,” said Head of the NBU Office of Monetary Policy Strategy Volodymyr Liepushunskyi in his keynote speech during the NBU seminar for journalists of the regional mass media, which was conducted on 1 March 2012.

The seminar aimed at raising financial awareness of journalists of the regional mass media was conducted by the National Bank of Ukraine under the auspices of the USAID Financial Sector Development Project (FINREP).

During the course of the seminar Volodymyr Liepushunskyi said that national currency stability in the long run is impossible without ensuring sustainable economic growth. In view of the above, promoting sustainable economic growth and backing up the government economic policy are among the top priorities of the National Bank of Ukraine.

The National Bank of Ukraine succeeds in fulfilling its main tasks by using a wide range of monetary instruments. Inflation dynamics in Ukraine (2011-2012) suggests that these monetary instruments are in line with the set of instruments used by the leading central banks, in particular the ESCB.

In particular, last year saw the lowest inflation rate ever recorded in the past nine years. In January 2012, the annual rate of consumer inflation stood at 3.7%, which is comparable with the corresponding figure in the United Kingdom (3.6%) and lower than CPI annual inflation recorded in January in the following countries: Russia (4.2%), China (4.5%), Hungary (5.5%), Kazakhstan (5.9%) and Brazil (6.2%).

All bodies of state authority are currently making joint efforts to implement the Program of Economic Reforms 2010-2014 "Wealthy Society, Competitive Economy, and Efficient State". Under the program, inflation will have to be reduced to 5-6%.The National Bank of Ukraine uses this mid-term target when pursuing the monetary policy. Furthermore, it appears to be in line with obligations undertaken by Ukraine under the IMF's Stand-By Arrangement.