KYIV, March 14 – The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), unexpectedly for market participants, lowered the key policy rate by 0.5 percentage points (pp), to 14.5% per annum from March 15.

"Taking into account the further deceleration of inflation and a steady improvement in expectations, a stable FX market, and a partial reduction in the risks associated with obtaining international assistance, the NBU Board decided to cut the key policy rate by 0.5 pp, to 14.5%," NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy said at a briefing on Thursday.