KIEV, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Inflation in Ukraine should hit 23 percent in 2008, President Viktor Yushchenko said, up from 16.6 percent last year.
"In analytic terms, inflation of 23 percent is expected," Yushchenko told 1+1 television in an interview broadcast late on Sunday. "Rises in producer prices will be somewhat higher, in the area of 27-30 percent."
The president acknowledged that price rises had slowed in recent months, but not enough to meet the government's initial inflation forecast of 15.9 percent for the year.
This figure has already been exceeded, with cumulative price rises standing at 18 percent after 10 months.
The deputy head of the central bank, Oleksander Savchenko, last week predicted an inflation rate of 20 percent for 2008, declining to 10 to 17 percent next year.
Ukraine's memorandum with the International Monetary Fund to secure a $16.4 billion loan, signed last month, calls for inflation of 17.0 percent in 2009 with a rate of 25.5 percent forecast for 2008. (Reporting by Yuri Kulikov, writing by Ron Popeski; editing by David Stamp)