Ukrainian PM sees hryvnia at 12.00 to dollar once eastern crisis ends

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Friday he expected Ukraine's hryvnia to be around 12.00 to the dollar once the crisis in the country's east stabilizes and Ukraine receives the next tranches of aid from the International Monetary Fund. The first slice of financial aid from the IMF helped the central bank stabilize the hryvnia in May, but fears over the mounting economic and human costs of the conflict have hit the currency in recent weeks, causing it to weaken around 13 percent since mid-July to 13.50. "If we get peace the situation will calm down. I see the exchange rate at no more than 12.00 when the situation stabilizes," Yatseniuk said in a televised interview. (Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Alison Williams)