KIEV, April 7 ??“ Ukraine??™s industrial output rose 0.2% on the year in the first quarter, the slowest growth over the past five years, as the economy had been coping with doubled natural gas prices.

The industrial output increased 1.3% on the year in March, slowing from 1.5% on year growth in February and reversing a 2.9% decline recorded in January, the State Statistics Committee reported Friday.