KYIV — Ukraine must preserve the independence of its central bank under the next governor as part of a $5 billion International Monetary Fund deal, the IMF's country representative told a local news site in comments published on Friday. National Bank of Ukraine Governor Yakiv Smoliy quit on July 1, complaining of "systematic political pressure", weeks after Ukraine secured the IMF deal to fight an economic slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic. His exit rattled the market, forced the government to abort a 12-year Eurobond placement worth $1.75 billion and raised doubts over whether international backers, including the IMF, would freeze loans. Ukraine's dollar-denominated bonds have been under pressure since Smoliy's departure and fell again on Friday, with some issues losing more than 1 cent in the dollar to trade at levels last seen in early June.

Source: International New York Times July 10, 2020 09:56 UTC