Kiev: Ukraine’s gross domestic product (GDP) declined 39 per cent year-on-year in October, after falling 35 per cent in the previous month, a senior official said.
Yulia Svyrydenko, the first deputy prime minister and economy minister, told reporters on Thursday that Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure were behind the accelerated economic slowdown, reports Xinhua news agency.
The government estimated that the January-September period, Ukraine’s GDP dropped 30 per cent, Svyrydenko said.
If the attacks, which caused massive power outages across Ukraine, continue, the country’s economy may see a bigger decline by the end of the year, she added.
Also on Thursday, the State Statistics Service said that inflation in Ukraine skyrocketed to 26.6 per cent last month on an annual basis.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices grew 2.5 per cent in October.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, inflation is expected to reach 30 per cent at the end of 2022 compared with 10 per cent in the previous year.
In the wake of the ongoing war, Ukraine’s economy is projected to drop 31.5 per cent this year, according to the bank’s forecast.
(IANS)
