KIEV, Dec. 22 - The National Bank of Ukraine has decided to reduce its share of gold in foreign exchange reserves, in line with practices in developing countries, according to Serhiy Ponomarenko, the head of the department for forex transactions management and financial markets analysis at the NBU.

KIEV, Dec. 22 - Political turbulence and fragile external finances weigh on Ukraine's (Caa3 negative) economic prospects and will hinder its ability to cover its upcoming debt maturities in the coming years, Moody's Investors Service said in its annual Ukraine Credit Analysis, published recently.

KIEV, Dec. 23 - The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved a $378 million loan for the Second Power Transmission Project to improve the reliability of the power transmission system and support the implementation of the Wholesale Electricity Market in Ukraine, the World Bank said in a statement.

KIEV, Dec. 23 - The Cabinet of Ministers has proposed increasing excise tax on gasoline by 2% (by EUR 4 per ton), to EUR 202 per ton.

The proposal is contained in the draft of amendments to the Tax Code submitted to Parliament.

KIEV, Dec. 23 – Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers suggests that the list of facilities not subject to privatization in Ukraine be reduced from 1,478 to 551, including 273 located on the occupied territory of Crimea and Sevastopol, according to a bill registered in parliament on Tuesday.

KIEV, Dec. 20 - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will issue a loan of up to EUR 35 million to the largest Ukrainian producers of pork, Danosha LLC, a subsidiary of Denmark's Axzon Group, to expand its existing operations in Ivano-Frankivsk region.

KIEV, Dec. 20 – The Wind Farms of Ukraine has assembled five FL 2500-100 turbines with a combined capacity of 12.5 MW on the site of Lutuhyne wind power plant, the head of the licensing department at the National Commission for Energy Regulation, Yuriy Antoniuk, said.

KIEV, Dec. 20 – The International Monetary Fund has downgraded the forecast for Ukraine's GDP growth in 2014 to 1% compared to 1.5% in the forecast from October this year.

KIEV, Dec. 23 – Ukraine in October 2013 imported 3.639 billion cubic meters of natural gas worth $1.5 billion from Russia and Europe, the State Statistics Service reported.

KIEV, Dec. 23 - Ukrainian shipbuilding firms will manufacture liquefied natural gas tankers for Russia under an agreement signed on December 17, Yuriy Boyko, a deputy prime minister, said.