KIEV, March 17 – Progress in talks with the International Monetary Fund, certain positive changes in the pace of some macroeconomic figures and the availability of a sufficient amount of foreign currency at the National Bank of Ukraine will protect the hryvnia exchange rate from excessive surges in the short term, according to Valeriy Lytvytsky, the head of the NBU's group of advisors to the governor.

"Until the end of March, the NBU has a chance to spend a lot of funds on interventions. I think that we will have a certain stock [of funds] left for Q2 too. I don't see the reasons for the forecasts of excessive deviations due to the delay in the issue of a second tranche from the IMF.