Ukraine's central bank says will prevent any excessive hryvnia fall

KIEV (Reuters) - The National Bank of Ukraine will keep selling dollars on the local foreign exchange market and using other means to prevent excessive volatility in the hryvnia, its head said on Friday. After a six-month break, the central bank this week resumed its intervention to stop any further hryvnia falls, central bank chief Valeria Hontareva said, due to political instability as Kiev forces fight separatists in the east.In the first quarter the Ukrainian currency lost about 30 percent of its value and authorities say there are no macroeconomic reasons for a further fall as the trade deficit decreased significantly in January-May.

"The National Bank ... will not allow the market to wind up this flywheel. We will not be a passive participant. We can carry on (with interventions) to smooth out the market," she told journalists. On Friday the central bank offered to sell dollars at a price of 12.60 hryvnia, compared with 12.26 hryvnia on Tuesday. The hryvnia was quoted at 12.4950 to the dollar at around 0845 GMT, after closing at 12.45 hryvnia on Thursday.