LONDON, February 19. /TASS/. Fresh data that was published on Wednesday provided a new testimony to the depth of the abyss, which the Ukrainian economy was rolling into, suggested a brief article published by The Financial Times.
"Ukraine's economy is in tatters," the newspaper said. "New data out today underscores the extent of Ukraine's economic carnage."
Specifically, it said that industrial production collapsed by nearly one-fifth just in January, and was now down 21.3% versus the same period of 2014.
"Economists had "only" expected a 15 per cent month-on-month contraction in industrial production," the newspaper said.
"Industrial production has been clobbered by disrupted transportation infrastructure, rocketing energy costs and fuel shortages, a collapsing currency and outright civil war in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartlands," the article said.
"[…] this is just the latest grim data point for the Ukrainian economy, which the IMF estimates shrank by about 7.5 per cent last year," the newspaper said. "The last quarter was particularly grim, with gross domestic product contracting a staggering 15.2 per cent from a year ago."
Unless the recent cease-fire holds and Kiev receives hefty slugs of western aid soon, 2015 may prove almost as gloomy, FT said.