Ukraine’s economy grew 4.7 percent in the final quarter of 2011 from the same period a year earlier, the statistics office said.

Gross domestic product expanded 5.2 percent for all of last year, the office said in a statement on its website. The office revised first-quarter GDP growth to 5.4 percent from 5.3 percent, according to the release. The second-quarter expansion was revised to 3.9 percent from 3.8 percent and the third- quarter was amended to 6.5 percent from 6.6 percent.

Seasonally adjusted growth in the fourth quarter was 1 percent, according to the release.

Ukraine’s government led by Prime Minister Mykola Azarov expects growth of 3.9 percent this year as demand for Ukraine’s primary export, steel, may fall because of Europe’s debt crisis. Ukraine’s economy expanded an annual 2 percent in February, the central bank said this week.

The central bank cut its main interest rate in March for the first time since 2010 to help economic growth. The key discount rate was reduced a quarter of a percentage point by the Natsionalnyi Bank Ukrainy to 7.5 percent from March 23.

http://www.bloomberg.com