Ukraine working on plans to stabilise currency: presidency

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is working on plans to stabilise the plummeting national currency, the presidency announced Wednesday.

The Ukrainian hryvnia fell sharply again Wednesday, reaching a new lows against the euro and the dollar, as the country's economic woes pile up.

The National Bank of Ukraine has allowed the hryvnia to trade freely in line with the conditions of a 16.4-billion-dollar (12.8 billion euro) IMF loan aimed at helping the country through the financial crisis.

It has endured the ignominy of suffering one of the worst devaluations during the meltdown, along with the Icelandic krona.

The dollar rose to 9.3-9.6 hryvnia at the end of trading from 8.36-8.53 hryvnia at the start, according to the website of Ukrainian financial group Inter Business Consulting.

In September, the dollar stood at 4.84 hryvnia.

The euro also strengthened to 13.07-13.5 hryvnia from 11.82-12.09 hryvnia in early trading.

Yushchenko is "worried by the devaluation of the hryvnia," said a statement issued by the presidency, quoting a senior official Roman Zhukovsky.

He is working on a plan aimed to "maintain a stable level" of the currency, said Zhukovsky, who denounced "major speculation" by some importers.

The president could impose restrictions on the use of foreign currency by exporters and reduce central bank refinancing funds available to commercial banks, which are suspected of using the money to speculate on the interbank lending market, the statement said.

The sudden fall in the currency has sent Ukrainians rushing to exchange booths to swap local money for hard currency in scenes that have recalled the hyperinflation suffered by the country in the early 1990s.

Not only do Ukrainian consumers have to pay back loans taken out in more prosperous times but many will also have to pay them back in dollars.