Kiev,--Ukraine's hryvnia plummeted to a record low against the dollar Thursday after the central bank cancelled its daily foreign exchange auctions.
The battered hryvnia -- currently the worst performing currency in the world -- weakened around 30 percent to 24.6 to the dollar before recovering slightly.
The hryvnia lost some 50 percent of its value in 2014 as east Ukraine collapsed into bloodletting following the ouster of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych last February.
Thursday's sharp fall in the national currency came after the national bank said it was ditching daily auctions and boosting its key discount rate by 5.5 percent to 19.5 percent.
"The main reason for this decision is the rise in inflationary risks," the central bank said in a statement. Annual inflation rose to almost 25 percent in December.
Ukraine's foreign currency reserves have also fallen to their lowest point in over a decade to just $6.4 billion, the bank said.
A team from the International Monetary Fund is currently in Kiev for talks on a new financial rescue plan likely worth billions of dollars.
No amount for a new programme has been proposed, but the IMF has said the country needs some $15 billion more from all sources to keep its finances stable through the end of 2015.
The previous $17 billion aid programme agreed in April 2014 has proven inadequate to stabilise Ukraine's finances as the country fights a pro-Russia insurgency in the industrialised east, a fight that has left more than 5,350 dead and ravaged the country's economy.
AFP
