Ukraine central bank raises refinancing rate to 30%

Ukraine's central bank announced plans to raise its benchmark refinancing rate to 30 percent from 19.5 percent, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported Tuesday.
The rate change, which aims to rein in  runaway inflation, will take effect on Wednesday, the bank's governor Valeriya Gontareva was quoted as saying.
Ukraine's currency, the hryvnia, has collapsed over the past year as government forces fight a bloody conflict with pro-Russian separatists in the east.
The hryvnia fell to a record low of 33.75 against the dollar last week, down about two-thirds since the start of the war, prompting the central bank to tighten capital controls.
The rate announcement came as parliament voted on a package of reforms seen as crucial to securing an emergency $17.5-billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.