Daily Insight-Hryvnia steady, stocks drop, inflation in focus

On Friday, the hryvnia held mostly steady on the Ukrainian FX market, opening, according to UkrDealing, at 7.92-7.925/USD, the same rate as Thursday\'s close, and closing at 7.923-7.927/USD, with the strongest point reached during the day at 7.9188-7.9154/USD. The NBU again bought dollars at the rate of 7.925/USD and kept its official exchange rate at 7.9259/USD for Friday. The hryvnia appreciated on the cash FX market, trading at 7.8863/USD for bid offers at the domestic interchange stations, and 7.9318/USD on ask offers. Ukraine\'s stock markets fell on Friday, with the PFTS index moving down 8.31% to 869.98 points, and the UX stock exchange down 9%, to 2,109.74 points. Total turnover on the PFTS was up 4x from Thursday\'s level, at US$119.3m (UAH954.4m), with the share of equity trading at 0.38% of the total, and state bonds representing 99.62%. The total amount of securities traded on the UX stock exchange was down from Thursday\'s level, at US$9m (UAH72.5m).