Hryvnia Slumps; How Much Financing Does Ukraine Need?  The
political turmoil in Ukraine is by no means at its end. Pro-Kiev
(Western) and pro-Moscow protestors have confronted one another
in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking Crimea region, igniting concerns
that some parts of the country may secede.  Hryvnia slid past 10
per dollar for the first time today, a day after the central
bank lowered its official exchange rate from 9.04 to 9.43 per
dollar. The central bank’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen
to just $15 billion, providing cover for less than two months of
imports.  So far, the IMF, the US and the EU have all signaled
willingness to provide assistance to Ukraine. But how much
financing does the country need?  Capital Economics estimates
Ukraine needs somewhere between $20-25 billion this year – and
the bulk of which needs to be there before September:  In total,
the government has $6.2bn of principal and interest payments on
FX denominated debts over the rest of this year, of which $2.7bn
are to the IMF