The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has authorized the purchase and transfer of foreign currency by resident legal entities that are e-commerce entities abroad to pay value added tax (VAT) on the purchase of goods from domestic producers by consumers from EU countries.
“The condition for these transactions is that the e-commerce entity must be registered as a taxpayer in the EU. This mitigation will primarily support small and medium-sized businesses that will be able to promote their own goods on the EU market through trading platforms,” the central bank said in a press release on Monday.
The regulator assumes that this will not have a negative impact on international reserves, as the inflow of foreign currency to Ukraine for the goods sold will far exceed the additional demand for currency to pay VAT in the EU.
In addition, the NBU announced a number of other currency easing measures. In particular, the central bank allowed state-owned companies to buy and transfer foreign currency abroad to cover carbon dioxide emissions.
“State-owned enterprises will be able to buy foreign currency and transfer it to non-residents to purchase quotas to cover or compensate for carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions associated with aviation activities,” the National Bank explains.
According to the regulator, this step contributes to the continuity of defense procurement under state contracts, will allow for further air transportation abroad, and will support military-technical cooperation with the EU.
Other transactions that the NBU has authorized since September 10 include payments for operations under reinsurance agreements concluded with foreign nuclear insurance pools.
“In particular, to pay a break-even bonus, which is a mandatory condition stipulated by the reinsurance agreement. This mitigation will have a minor impact on international reserves and at the same time will allow the Nuclear Insurance Pool to fulfill its obligations to partners, which is important for the smooth operation of the industry,” the NBU said in a release.
As reported, the regulator also allowed Ukrainian businesses to reimburse coupon payments on Eurobonds paid from February 24, 2022, to July 9, 2024, at the expense of their own foreign currency accumulated in Ukraine.
At the same time, starting from September 10, the NBU introduced a limit of UAH 100 thousand per month for payments for watches, jewelry, precious stones and coins from currency cards of Ukrainian banks abroad and up to UAH 500 thousand per month for transactions with real estate agents.
All of the above innovations are introduced by Resolution No. 108 of September 6, 2024, which was officially promulgated on Monday, September 9.
In August, more than 25.7 thousand used cars imported from abroad were added to the Ukrainian car fleet, which is 22% more than in the same month in 2023 and almost 29% more than in July this year, Ukravtoprom reported on its telegram channel.
“This is the best figure for the last 25 months,” the statement said.
As reported, according to the association, 8.1 thousand new passenger cars were registered in August (40% more than in August last year), meaning that the demand for imported used cars exceeded the demand for new ones by more than three times.
According to Ukravtoprom, the largest share in the used car segment in August, as before, belonged to gasoline cars by a wide margin – 46%. This is followed by diesel cars – 25%; electric cars – 20%; cars with LPG – 5%, hybrids – 4%.
Volkswagen Golf remains the leader among imported second-hand cars with 1325 registrations.
The top ten most popular models of the month also included Renault Megane – 1037 units, Skoda Octavia – 959 units, Volkswagen Passat – 738 units, Volkswagen Tiguan – 685 units, Audi Q5 – 671 units, Nissan Leaf – 658 units, Tesla Model Y – 588 units, Nissan Rogue – 581 units and Tesla Model 3 – 561 units.
The average age of used cars that switched to Ukrainian license plates in August was 8.6 years.
In total, 159 thousand used cars were registered for the first time in Ukraine in January-August, which is a quarter more than in the same period in 2023.
As reported, in 2023, registrations of used cars imported from abroad decreased by 45% compared to 2022 – to 214.4 thousand units.
Brent crude oil prices may fall below $70 per barrel in the relatively near future, according to Ben Lukock, head of oil at Trafigura.
At the same time, he warned the market against being too pessimistic.
“It’s dangerous because there are so many unexpected things that can happen,” Lukock said, speaking at the Asia-Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC). – “I wouldn’t bet everything on a price decline.
Oil prices began to fall in mid-July on concerns about global demand and increased supply by OPEC+ countries and have now shown negative dynamics since the beginning of the year.
Torbjörn Thornqvist, the head of Gunvor, also shares the negative forecast.
“The world is now producing much more oil than it consumes, and this balance is expected to only worsen in the coming years,” Bloomberg quoted Thornqvist as saying at the APPAC conference.
Jeff Curry of Energy Pathways voiced a somewhat more optimistic view. He acknowledged the problems in China’s economy, but pointed out that the expected Federal Reserve rate cut could support investor sentiment.
“Growth in demand for oil and other energy will come from regions such as India, Africa and parts of Latin America in the future,” he said.
France will use EUR300 million in 2024 to purchase weapons for Ukraine, part of the EUR1.4 billion in proceeds from frozen Russian assets allocated by the European Union, the French Defense Ministry said.
“The European Commission has agreed with the Directorate General for Armaments that it will use these funds to quickly acquire priority equipment for Ukraine from the French industry, ammunition, artillery and air defense equipment from the French industry for a total of 300 million for 2024,” the ministry said in a communique published on Friday.
Earlier, EU Diplomacy Chief Josep Borrell said that the EU has already begun to transfer the proceeds of Russia’s frozen assets to the Ukrainian side and the bloc countries that will supply Kyiv with weapons.
In January-August 2024, Ukrgasvydobuvannya JSC (UGV) increased commercial gas production by 7.2% compared to the same period last year – up to 9.26 billion cubic meters, the company reported on its Facebook page.
During this period, UGV completed drilling 62 wells, of which 52 were put into operation. Of these, 23 have an initial daily flow rate of more than 100 thousand cubic meters.
“We continue to actively drill wells, introduce new technologies, explore new fields – we do everything to increase gas production every day. The cubic meters of gas and oil produced make Ukraine more stable and provide a reliable rear for our soldiers,” said Serhiy Lahno, Chairman of Ukrgasvydobuvannya.
As reported, in 2023, the company produced 13.224 bcm of commercial gas, which is 0.679 bcm more than in 2022.
“In 2023, Ukrgasvydobuvannya launched 86 new wells, 24 of which had an initial flow rate of more than 100 thousand cubic meters.
NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine owns 100% of Ukrgasvydobuvannya shares.
In Ukraine, following the European Union, butter prices continue to rise, with prices in Europe reaching record levels, according to Infagro, an industry analytical agency.
“Not all Ukrainian butter producers can take advantage of the opportunity to make good money on butter exports, as it was in 2022. There is currently a physical lack of raw materials to produce large volumes,” the analysts said.
According to their information, due to rising prices and a number of other factors, butter production decreased slightly in August. This will be followed by a decline in production of this commodity due to a lack of raw materials at affordable prices.
They noted that domestic butter prices are also rising alongside export prices, albeit with a certain lag. Butter prices will continue to rise, at least domestically. Analysts predict a price collapse in foreign trade in mid-autumn.
Infagro noted that the production of spreads and vegetable-cream mixtures is currently stable, but should increase in the near future. Demand for alternative milk fats will increase given the current price of butter.
