KIEV, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukrainian economy contracted by 4.4 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year, the head of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Kyrylo Shevchenko said in a briefing here on Thursday.
Shevchenko recalled that earlier the NBU had expected a drop of 6 percent in gross domestic product (GDP), but this forecast was revised due to the higher rates of economic recovery in the second half of last year.
Shevchenko said that in 2021, Ukraine will be able to make up for the losses from the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The country's GDP is expected to grow by 4.2 percent this year.
At the same time, Shevchenko noted that brisk consumption, along with such factors as the rise in energy prices and the growth of business production costs, will lead to an increase in inflation this year to 7 percent against 5 percent recorded in 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a severe blow to the Ukrainian economy. In the first quarter of 2020, the country's GDP fell by 1.3 percent, 11.4 percent in the second quarter, and 3.5 percent in the third. Enditem
