KIEV, May 28 - Ukraine needs to hike gas prices for domestic consumers and let its currency trade more flexibly if it wants to get funds flowing again under its suspended International Monetary Fund bailout, an IMF official was quoted as saying.

With a parliamentary election in October, the Kiev government has baulked at taking IMF advice to raise gas and heating prices for Ukrainian households by 30% to 50%, which economists say is needed to put public finances on a more sustainable track.