KIEV, Jan. 16 – The hryvnia will slide 8.75% in 2013 to UAH 8.70/$1 from UAH 8.00/$1 in 2012, the World Bank has predicted.

KIEV, Jan. 17 – The last obstacle to signing a production sharing agreement with Shell on extraction of shale gas was removed on Thursday after the Kharkiv regional council had given its approval to the project.

KIEV, Jan. 16 - The World Bank forecasts 2.2% economic growth in Ukraine in 2013, 3.2% in 2014 and 3.5% in 2015.

The GDP growth in Ukraine in 2012 was 0.5%, compared to 5.2% in 2011, the World Bank said in its latest Global Economic Prospects published late on Tuesday.

KIEV, Jan. 16 – In 2011 Ukraine harvested an estimated 56.7 million tons of grain in bunker weight, which is 44.3% up on 2010, the State Statistics Service reported.

The service said that bread grain harvest reached 23.7 million tons (42%) and that for fodder grain – 33 million tons (58%).

KIEV, Jan. 16 – The Ukrainian population in 2011 bought $13.445 billion more hard currency than it sold to banks, which was 38.2% up on 2010 ($9.732 billion), according to the National Bank of Ukraine.

KIEV, Jan. 16 - Ukraine boosted its transit of natural gas to Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States by 5.7% to 104.198 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2011, Ukrtransgaz said in a statement.

KIEV, Jan. 16 – A consortium of Greenworx Holding NV (Belgium) and Guris Construction and Engineering Co. (Turkey) has acquired a project for the construction of the 250 megawatt Zakhidno-Krymska wind power plant (Saki and Chornomorsky districts in Crimea) from Cypriot EuroUkrWind Ltd.

KIEV, Jan. 17 – Ukraine in the 2011/12 agricultural year could export 21 million tons of grain instead of the officially forecast 26 million tons due to a lack of grain wagons and difficulties with the registration of permits, according to of the Ukrainian Grain Association President Volodymyr Klymenko.

KIEV, Jan. 17 – The trade union of ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih, in a letter to the company's administration, has demanded a 10% wage increase effective January 1.

According to a union newspaper, the requirement of the trade union committee is linked to the increase of subsistence wage and minimum wage from January 1, 2012 under the law on the national budget of Ukraine for 2012.

DNIPROPETROVSK, Jan. 13 - Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises are concerned about a shortage of empty freight wagons, which they say could lead to problems with the shipment of products or cause an increase in the cost of transportation.