烏克蘭央行將利率提升至30%
Ukraine has sharply raised its benchmark refinancing rate by 10.5 percentage points to 30 per cent, in a desperate move to temper spiralling inflation and halt its sinking currency.
The war in the east of the country has plunged Ukraine into financial crisis, and the central bank’s decision to raise its main interest rate from 19.5 per cent, announced on Tuesday, adds to a flurry of currency and capital controls it has recently imposed amid capital flight. It raised rates from 14 per cent just a month ago.
烏克蘭東部的戰事已經令該國陷入一場金融危機，由於資本外逃，烏克蘭央行(National Bank of Ukraine)最近已實施了諸多貨幣和資本控制舉措。該行週二宣佈將主要利率從19.5%提升至30%，就是這些舉措中的最新一例。僅僅一個月前，該行還將利率設置在14%的水平上。“Given the situation that the threat of inflation has risen strongly . . . in order to stabilise the situation, the Monetary Policy Committee recommended . . . to raise the rate,” Reuters quoted Ukraine National Bank governor Valeria Gontareva as saying.
路透社(Reuters)援引烏克蘭央行行長瓦萊裏婭•甘達列娃(Valeria Gontareva)表示：“考慮到通脹威脅已急劇升高……爲穩定局面，貨幣政策委員會(Monetary Policy Committee)建議……提升利率。”
Capital Economics described the move as a “desperate attempt . . . to regain control of the currency”, which has dropped more than 40 per cent since the start of this year, on top of a 40 per cent drop in 2014.
凱投宏觀(Capital Economics)稱此舉是一種“試圖重新控制匯率的……絕望努力”。自今年初以來，烏克蘭貨幣已經在2014年貶值40%的基礎上又貶值了40%。“This comes against the backdrop of large-scale capital flight and the fact that the authorities have no FX reserves to speak of,” the research firm added in a note.
該機構在一份報告中補充說：“推出這一舉措的原因，是烏克蘭出現了大規模資本外逃，而當局的外匯儲備卻不值一提。”Ms Gontareva said the move was aimed at helping push the hryvnia back up to a level of 20-22 against the US dollar, around the 21.5 per dollar used to calculate the government’s annual budget.
甘達列娃表示，此舉旨在幫助將格里夫納(hryvnia)推回1美元兌20到22格里夫納的水平，這一區間在烏克蘭政府年度預算所採用的1美元兌21.5格里夫納的水平附近。The currency has strengthened a little to 24.25 since hitting its weakest on record of 33.75 last week. It is the world’s worst performing currency so far this year, as it was in 2014.
上週，格里夫納先是跌至1美元兌33.75格里夫納的創紀錄低點，後來又小幅回升至24.25的水平。和2014年一樣，格里夫納是今年迄今全球表現最差的貨幣。The central bank’s move come as Kiev’s lawmakers this week rushed to adopt a package of austerity and reform legislation needed to unlock a new $17.5bn International Monetary Fund bailout.
就在烏克蘭央行推出這一舉措之際，烏克蘭的議員本週正急於通過一攬子財政緊縮及改革方面的法案，以解鎖國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)規模爲175億美元的新一輪紓困計劃。Should the IMF board approve the bailout, some funds would be front-loaded to stabilise the state’s stretched finances and replenish depleted central bank reserves, both IMF and Ukrainian officials have said. Central bank reserves have fallen to around just one month of import coverage, compared with the three months that is considered the critical threshold.
IMF和烏克蘭官員都曾表示，一旦IMF理事會批准這一紓困計劃，部分資金將優先用於穩定烏克蘭極度緊張的財政狀況並補充已經枯竭的央行外匯儲備。目前，烏克蘭央行的外匯儲備已跌至只夠一個月進口所需的水平，遠低於3個月的外匯儲備警戒線。
