KIEV, March 31 - Ukraine's central bank said on Tuesday it would hold its main interest rate at 30%, warning inflation was likely to stay high and the hryvnia currency to weaken further as the country's recession deepened.

Following a monetary policy committee meeting last week, the bank said it would not cut the refinancing rate until the hryvnia appeared less at risk, Reuters reported.

It raised the rate to 30% from 19.5% earlier this month to rein in rocketing inflation after the currency fell 50% in February on concerns about the durability of a ceasefire in the separatist east of the country.

"There have been signs of a drop in tension on Ukraine's currency market in recent weeks," the bank said in a statement released on Tuesday.

"At the same time, the risks of renewed destabilization on the money market remain, as well as expectations of high inflation and depreciation."

Meanwhile, the government will consider a list of state-owned assets for privatization, Aivaras Abromavicius, the economy minister, said at a briefing, as part of Kiev's drive to boost the budget and reform inefficient institutions, Reuters reported.

Until now, the law made some 1,500 state firms ineligible for privatization, but the government has recommended abolishing this rule for 1,200 of them in an effort to stamp out graft and raise funds to shore up a near-bankrupt economy reliant on international aid.

"We will submit a list of businesses for privatization. After this, the list should go to parliament (for approval)," Abromavicius said.

He implied chemical business Odessa Port Plant, which produces ammonia and urea, and power generator Tsentrenergo would be on the list.

They "are not strategic. And of course it is these types of businesses that we must put up for sale, particularly as there is serious demand for them from investors," he said.

An earlier government privatization bill was rejected by parliament in January after deputies criticized the proposed plans as too extensive.

The central bank expects the economy to shrink 7.5% in 2015, following a 6.8% contraction last year, when the conflict with pro-Russian rebels destroyed infrastructure and transport networks in Ukraine's industrial heartland.

Inflation will rise to 30% by the end of the year from 24.9 percent in 2014, the bank said.

The hryvnia has recovered from February's weakest point on record at more than 30 to the dollar, and the official rate stood at 23.44 as of Monday. (rt/ez)