The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine expect the country's GDP will grow by 3.6% in 2019.

The corresponding forecast is contained in the draft titled "Main Guidelines of Budget Policy" submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday.

The growth of the consumer price index (inflation) by the end of 2019 is expected at 6.5%, the producer price index at 7.2%.

The draft was adopted without debates at a Cabinet meeting in Kyiv on Wednesday, discussion. Prior to its adoption, First Deputy Head of the Joint Representation Authority of Trade Unions' Federation Oleksandr Shubin asked the Finance Ministry to finalize the document in order to reflect the Authority's proposals on basic social standards and guarantees, which was approved by Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman.

In addition, the two ministries forecast that GDP in nominal terms in 2019 will amount to UAH 3.734 trillion, the average annual forex rate of the hryvnia against the U.S. dollar will be UAH 30.5. Thus, the nominal GDP of Ukraine in U.S. dollars may reach $122.4 billion, while $125 billion is a threshold level. Exceeding the level is one of the necessary conditions for payment by the country on state warrants (Value Recovery Instruments, VRI), issued during the restructuring of eurobonds in 2015.

According to the terms of issue of the VRI, if GDP growth in 2019 exceeds 3% and $125 billion, the first payment should be made in May 2021.

Meanwhile, the authors of the guidelines warn that the annual average forecast of the hryvnia exchange rate set in the resolution for 2019 and its weakening to UAH 31.4 per U.S. dollar in 2020 and further to UAH 31.8 per U.S. dollar in 2021, if there is no justification, can translate into tension in society and send the same signal to the corporate sector.

In comparison with the budget resolution for 2018-2020, the forecast of real GDP growth in 2019, the producer price index, as well as the average annual forex rate of the hryvnia remained unchanged.

The forecast for the growth of the consumer price index rose to 6.5% from 5.9%.

Earlier it was reported that the National Bank of Ukraine predicts the acceleration of GDP growth in 2018 to 3.4% from 2.5% in 2017, and a slowdown in 2019-2020 to 2.9%.

Regarding the consumer price index, the NBU expects inflation to slow to 8.9% by the end of 2018 from 13.7% in 2017, while a forecast for 2019 is set at 5.8%, in 2020 at to 5%.