The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) increased sales of foreign currency on the interbank market last week by $98.4 million, or 18%, to $643.6 million, according to the regulator’s statistics on its website.
According to the statistics, the central bank has not bought any foreign currency over the past two weeks.
Last week, the National Bank bought the most foreign currency since the beginning of March, but it is still less than in February this year and roughly equal to the amount of foreign currency purchased in the same week in March last year.
Data released by the regulator during this time show that the negative balance between the volume of foreign currency purchases by households and the volume of foreign currency sales narrowed last week from $26.89 million on Monday to $20.24 on Thursday.
The official hryvnia exchange rate weakened by 2 kopecks to 41.5277 UAH/$1 over the week.
The same was the case on the cash market, with a narrow spread of 41.46-41.56 UAH/$1.
‘Since the beginning of March, the Ukrainian foreign exchange market has undergone significant changes in the dynamics of the dollar. While in February the dollar was gradually strengthening, in early March it began to decline, followed by a gradual recovery after 10 March,’ analysts of the currency exchange market operator KYT Group commented on the market situation in their March review.
According to them, the Ukrainian cash FX market was affected by a decline in demand for the dollar following a large-scale import of cash currency in February: according to the NBU, $1.316 billion in cash dollars and the equivalent of $450 million in euros were imported into Ukraine.
The NBU’s interventions help to smooth out exchange rate volatility and maintain a controlled situation on the market, but the increase in budget spending in March traditionally creates additional demand for foreign currency, which may affect the correction of the hryvnia exchange rate, KYT Group experts added. They expect that in the short term, over the next 1-3 weeks, the dollar is likely to remain in the range of UAH 41.30-42.30/$1.
As reported, the NBU’s net interventions in February fell to $3bn from $3.75bn in January.
In February 2025, Ukrainians’ purchases of foreign currency exceeded sales by $0.95bn, which is also down from $1.48bn in January this year.
Ukraine’s international reserves as of 1 March 2025, according to preliminary data, amounted to $40.15 billion, which is 6.7%, or $2.86 billion, less than a month ago.
The Cabinet of Ministers has set the average annual rate of the official hryvnia/US dollar exchange rate in the 2025 state budget at 45 UAH/$1.
https://interfax.com.ua/news/economic/1058312.html
Rice prices fell after India lifted the last of its existing restrictions on rice exports.
The price per ton of benchmark white Thai rice, which was $669 in January 2024, had fallen to $405 by last week, the Financial Times said. The decision to lift the restrictions was prompted by India’s desire to boost agricultural and food exports to boost farmers’ incomes amid a general economic slowdown in the country.
According to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, the plan is to increase shipments to $100 billion by 2030 from $48.15 billion in 2023-2024.
“Last year, about $50 billion worth of products were exported from India,” the minister had said earlier. – I hope to see a triple-digit figure, the $100 billion mark.”
Export restrictions were imposed in the country in 2022. As a result of the decision, the price of white Thai rice jumped to its highest since 2008. India began easing the restrictive measures in September last year. India’s rice exports, which stood at 14 million tons in 2023, could reach a record 21.5 million tons between September 2024 and October 2025, according to S&P Global estimates.
The return of Indian rice will negatively impact exporters from Pakistan, which has gained market shares in Indonesia and East Africa amid declining supplies from India. The US Department of Agriculture estimates rice exports from Pakistan for the 12 months to May 2025 at just 5.8 million tons, down 11.4% from the same period a year earlier.
India is a leading supplier of milled rice, which is in high demand in African countries. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, Indian supplies accounted for more than 60% of rice imports of 17 African countries and more than 80% of imports of nine, including Somalia, in 2022.
The Supervisory Board of IC “Arsenal Insurance” (Kiev) on March 20 decided to close regional directorates in Kramatorsk (Donetsk region), Kherson and Chernivtsi, according to the company’s information in the information disclosure system of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market.
The decision has been made in connection with the change of the structure of the regional network.
IC “Arsenal Insurance” is the legal successor of IC “Arsenal-Dnepr”, operating in Ukraine since 2005. It is represented in all regional centers and some large cities of the country.
According to the NBU, the company is among the top ten leading insurers of Ukraine in terms of premiums collected in the first nine months of 2024.
American fast-food chain KFC has opened 18 establishments in Ukraine over the past three years and brought their number to 66, in 2025 it is expected to open new restaurants in Odessa, Kiev region and Sokolniki (Lviv region), in Rivne and Kamenskoye (Dnipropetrovsk region) said CEO of KFC franchisee in Ukraine Alina Kiptik in an interview with Forbes Ukraina.
“This year in all establishments in Ukraine we will launch an opportunity to take cold drinks without limit. We will continue the development of omnichannel and digitalization, we will launch ordering via QR codes. The menu will feature an updated line of Ukrainian dishes, two original lines that will pleasantly surprise guests, as well as new drinks, snacks, desserts and other interesting items”, – shared Kiptik.
In addition, KFC every 2-3 months adds new flavors to the menu, seasonal drinks and novelties in the snacks and desserts category. For 2024, 36 new products were launched, including the Ukrainian line.
“More than 80% of the products used in the restaurants are Ukrainian. When building and decorating the interiors of establishments, we also use materials from Ukrainian companies. Part of the kitchen equipment is also made in Ukraine,” Kiptik noted.
KFC in Ukraine in 2024 launched an application where you can make an order and get discounts and bonuses, which can then be exchanged for items from the menu. Each restaurant of the Ukrainian chain was equipped with self-service kiosks. At the beginning of 2024, less than 50% of orders came through them, and at the end of the year – more than 80%.
The KFC brand, owned by the American company Yum! Brands, has been on the Ukrainian market since 2013. In Ukraine, the chain is developed by three franchisee-operators of public catering restaurants: Global Restaurant Group-Ukraine LLC, Testi Food LLC and DTS-Kharkiv LLC, whose offices are located in Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv, respectively.
The international rating agency Fitch Ratings revised upward the price forecast for copper and aluminum for the coming years due to the imbalance in the global market, for gold – due to geopolitical tensions. The experts also adjusted the cost estimates for coking and thermal coal, platinum, palladium and lithium for 2025, reflecting short-term price factors, the agency said.
Expectations for iron ore, nickel, zinc and cobalt were unchanged.
In addition, analysts added a forecast for raw material costs in 2028.
“U.S. trade duties are likely to have implications for the global economy and thus increase volatility in metals prices,” the report said.
The higher forecasts for copper for 2025-2027 reflect a tight global market balance in the short to medium term due to still growing demand from China, although growth slows to 2-3% per year from 7% in 2023. Refined copper consumption in the PRC accounts for almost 60% of global demand.
The lower coking coal forecast for this year reflects weaker steel demand in China, Europe, Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, coal supplies have been affected by outages at several mines and severe weather conditions. Coking coal demand is likely to recover only towards the end of this year, when new blast furnaces in India and Southeast Asia come online.
Higher aluminum forecasts for 2025-2026 are supported by increased demand, especially in developed markets and China, and limited supply growth, as well as higher alumina prices due to supply disruptions.
Higher gold price expectations for 2025-2027 are driven by a higher geopolitical premium due to the precious metal being considered a “safe haven”.
“Trade war fears and volatility in equity and bond markets have increased investment inflows into gold, leading to record prices. Geopolitical risks and growing investor concerns about inflation and sovereign debt should support prices in the short to medium term,” the Fitch report said.
Expectations for platinum and palladium for this year have been lowered due to a likely price correction due to the impact of the trade war. “We expect suppliers to eventually reduce production, leading to a price recovery in line with our assumptions in 2026,” the agency’s analysts said.
The lowered price forecasts for thermal coal for 2025 reflect weaker demand, especially from China and India, where inventories remain high.
Deteriorating estimates for lithium for the current year reflect rising supplies from China and Africa, contributing to market saturation despite strong demand from electric vehicle manufacturers, Fitch said.
