BRUSSELS, March 6 – Energy Community Secretariat Director Janez Kopac (Slovenia) said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine that Kiev had not officially invited the community to help settle Naftogaz Ukrayiny's $7 billion dispute with Gazprom.

KIEV, March 6 – Ukraine's forex reserves fell by 1% or by $315.7 million in February, to $31.049 billion, according to the National Bank of Ukraine.

"As of March 1, 2012, forex reserves came to $31.049 billion in the U.S. dollar equivalent, which is sufficient to finance future imports of goods and services for three-and-a-half months. The NBU has paid back and serviced [loans made under] the stand-by arrangement," reads the report.

KIEV, March 6 – Industrial prices in Ukraine, which fell in December 2011 and January 2012, resumed growth in February 2012, rising by 0.8%, the State Statistics Service reported on Tuesday.

Year-over-year growth of industrial prices slowed to 7.5%, down from 11.8% in January 2012 and 14.2% in December 2011.

KIEV, March 3 – The share of bad loans and non-performing loans (NPLs) issued by Ukrainian banks shrank to 32.4% in 2011 from 40.1% (to UAH 243 billion from UAH 296 billion in absolute terms), according to a Credit-Rating study ordered by the International Finance Corporation.

KIEV, March 5 - Karpatnaftokhim (Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk region) announced plans to double suspension polyvinylchloride production (PVC-S) in March compared to February, to 23,500 tons.

MINSK, March 5 - Belarus won't impose restrictions on imports of Ukrainian products, the veterinary and food supervision department at the Agriculture and Food Ministry of Belarus has told Interfax-West.

KIEV, March 5 – Former head of the IMF mission to Belarus Chris Jarvis has replaced Thanos Arvanitis as IMF mission chief for Ukraine, according to a statement of IMF Resident Representative Office in Ukraine, with a reference to Resident Representative Max Alier.

KIEV, March 4 –Eurocar, Volkswagen and Skoda producer based in the Transcarpathian region, increased car output by 19% year-over-year, to 5,097 in January and February 2008, the company reported.

KIEV, March 5 – The Transport and Communications Ministry has proposed the sales of the state stakes in AeroSvit (22.4%) and Ukraine International Airlines (61.6%).

KIEV, March 6 – The cabinet has approved updated plans on the placement of shares in six regional electricity supply companies and the conditions of the sale of stakes in four companies in Kiev, deputy head of the State Property Fund, Oleksandr Potenkov, announced.