KYIV, Jan 16 – Businesses by the end of the fourth quarter of 2017 lowered expectations related to the growth of consumer prices for the next 12 months to 10.4% from 10% at the end of the third quarter, as well as the average annual exchange rate of the national currency to UAH 29.30 per $1 from UAH 28.46/$1, according to a survey for the fourth quarter of 2017 conducted by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) among enterprise managers.

According to the NBU, the share of optimistic respondents predicting a 12-month decline in consumer prices or growth within 9% has increased to 40.4% from 40.1% in the third quarter of 2017.