KIEV, Aug. 24 - The National Bank of Ukraine on Tuesday accused unidentified foreign speculators for staging an attack on Ukraine??™s currency market by pushing for the hryvnia??™s rapid appreciation against the U.S. dollar.

The NBU said the attack, carried out by foreign-owned commercial banks, was "aimed at destabilizing the exchange rate" and "can be regarded as a initiated by a cartel whose objective is to unleash inflationary processes."