KIEV, June 24 - Metinvest-Eurasia, a wholesale and retail channel of Metinvest Group in Russia, has commissioned new metal service centers in Moscow, Belgorod, Taganrog, Voronezh, Volgograd, Novorossiysk and Mineralnye Vody over the past six months, bringing their number to 16.

KIEV, June 24 – Naftogaz Ukrayiny plans to boost oil production at the Alam El Shawish East section in Egypt under a concession agreement from 300 barrels to 3,000 barrels (about 430 tons) per 24 hours by 2011, Energy Minister Yuriy Boyko said.

KIEV, June 24 – Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryschenko has signed an agreement on free trade with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which unites Ireland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

KIEV, June 25 – Kharkiv-based Turboatom and India's Larsen&Tubro will create a consortium to receive orders to supply hydro turbines to Indian hydro power plants, with construction to be started in the next three years.

KIEV, June 28 - The Economy Ministry is expecting inflation at a level of up to 0.5% to replace deflation in June, Deputy Economy Minister Mykhailo Rusynsky said at a briefing.

KIEV, June 27 ??“ Ukraine International Airlines, Ukraine??™s second largest airline, has started direct regular flights between Lviv and Barcelona, the company reported Monday.

KIEV, June 27 ??“ Ukreximbank and Oschadbank, the two state-owned banks in Ukraine, have been seeking to join forces to start lending for large-scale projects in the state and private sectors, the banks reported Monday.

MOSCOW, June 27 ??“ RosUkrEnergo, a Swiss-registered gas trader thought to be controlled by Gazprom, will buy and store in Ukrainian underground gas tanks 5.2 billion cubic meters of gas before the winter, a shareholder said.

KIEV, June 27 - Dmytro Firtash, a Ukrainian businessman who claims to own 40% stake in RosUkrEnergo, a controversial gas trader, suggested he had recently also acquired a 74.9% in a big Russian natural gas producer.

KIEV, June 24 ??“ AutoKrAZ Holding Company (Kremenchuk, Poltava region), Ukraine's only producer of heavy-tonnage trucks, is planning to supply at least 100 trucks to Uzbekistan in 2005, 2.8 times more than last year, Interfax-Ukraine reported.