The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has announced that the production index in the core sectors of the Ukrainian economy fell by 12.3% y/y in August, after falling by 10.3% y/y in July. According to the NBU, the production index in the core industries fell by 7.2% y/y during the first eight months of this year. The deterioration of the indicator in general is due to the military activities in the eastern part of Ukraine, the statement said.
The agricultural production increased by 6.3% y/y in Jan-Aug and by 13.6% y/y in August thanks to a significant increase in grain yields. The decline in industrial output accelerated from 12.1% y/y in July to 21.4% y/y in August.
The largest fall in production was in the extractive industries (by 27.4%), as a result of which production of coke and refined petroleum products fell by 50.2% and production of steel by 30%. The highest rates of decline were registered in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (58.7% and 85%, respectively). The reduction of retail trade turnover accelerated from 10.1% in July to 21.2% in August.
The reduction of state funding against the backdrop of the worsening financial results of enterprises led to a further narrowing of domestic investment demand. The NBU also said that the decline in construction work accelerated from 31% in July to 37.1% in August.
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