KIEV, Nov. 1 – Ukraine's forex reserves will continue narrowing, while the hryvnia will devaluate to UAH 9.50/$1 in 2014, Standard & Poor's said.

"In our view, the devaluation of the Ukrainian hryvnia has become more likely. The potential magnitude of this has also increased in light of the government's defense of the exchange rate through the depletion of foreign currency reserves, while we estimate the economy will contract in 2013.

KIEV, Nov. 1 – Ukraine's real GDP in 2013 will fall by 1%, but next year its growth will resume, at 1.5%, and in 2015 and 2016 it will accelerate to 3.5% per year, Standard & Poor's said.

KIEV, Nov. 4 – Dmytro Firtash's OstChem Holding does not plan to cut jobs at Severodonetsk Azot (Luhansk region) and is paying wages in full during the idle period of the plant, the holding reported.

KIEV, Nov. 4 - Ukraine's coal mining enterprises, according to preliminary data, reduced coal production by 3.5% or 2.518 million tons in January-October 2013 year-over-year, to 68.648 million tons.

A source in the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry said that mining of coking coal for the period decreased by 5.2% or 1.081 million tons, to 19.572 million tons, steam coal by 2.8% or 1.437 million tons, to 49.076 million tons.

KREMENCHUK, Nov. 4 - Ukrtatnafta (Kremenchuk oil refinery, Poltava region) plans to reduce its workforce due to the situation in the Ukrainian oil refining sector, the company reported.

KIEV, Nov. 2 - Chornomornaftogaz, an off-shore subsidiary of national energy company Naftogaz Ukrayiny, produced 947 million cubic meters of gas in January-October, a 14.8% year-on-year increase, the company reported Friday.

KIEV, Nov. 2 - Ukrainian billionaire Dmytro Firtash's Group DF plans to invest up to 500 million hryvnias in the development of nitrogen producer Severodonetsk Azot in 2013, the group reported Friday.

KIEV, Nov. 3 - The Ukrainian government at a meeting on Wednesday approved a state targeted scientific and technical program of research in the Antarctic for 2011-2020, Volodymyr Semynozhenko, the head of the State Committee on Science, Innovation and Information, said at a press conference.

MOSCOW, Nov. 3 - Belarusian Oil Company (BNK, Belarus special export of petroleum products) has confirmed the signing of a long-term contract with Ukraine for transporting Venezuelan oil through the Odessa-Brody trunk pipeline to Belarusian refineries.

KIEV, Nov. 4 – The Finance Ministry has proposed to expand a list of special gambling zones where casinos can open in Ukraine, while earlier the placement of casinos was planned only in four- and five-star hotels and Crimean resorts.