The volume of foreign currency purchases by the Ukrainian population in September 2023 exceeded the volume of its sales by $444.3 million, which is three times higher than in August, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported.
According to the NBU’s website, this result ensured an increase in net purchases of non-cash foreign currency by households to $261.6 million, while in August there was a net sale of $32.3 million.
Net purchases of cash foreign currency in September increased slightly – from $180.8 million to $182.7 million, according to the data.
As reported, on August 29, for the first time since the start of the full-scale war, the National Bank allowed citizens to buy non-cash currency worth up to UAH 50,000 per month from one bank. On the same date, it increased the monthly limit on the purchase of non-cash foreign currency by individuals from UAH 100,000 to UAH 200,000 in equivalent, with the subsequent placement on deposit for three months or more. This instrument was first allowed on July 21, 2022, with a limit of UAH 50 thousand per month.
The dollar exchange rate on the cash market rose from 37.88 UAH/$1 to 38.49 UAH/$1 in the first two decades of September, before dropping to 38.07 UAH/$1 at the end of the month.
According to the National Bank, the volume of non-cash foreign currency sales by households in September dropped to $223.7 million from $260.6 million in August, while the volume of purchases jumped from $228.3 million to $485.3 million.
At the same time, in the cash market in September, purchases decreased slightly from $1 billion 669.3 million to $1 billion 547.7 million, as did sales: from $1 billion 488.5 million to $1 billion 364.9 million.
According to official statistics, in 2022, the population bought $880.1 million more currencies than sold, including $1.01 billion more cash currency than sold.
In the first nine months of the year, net purchases of foreign currency by households amounted to $2 billion 405.5 million, including $1 billion 800.0 million in cash.
In the non-cash foreign exchange market, purchases of foreign currency by bank customers increased to $5.80 billion in September from $5.49 billion in August, while sales decreased to $3.96 billion from $4.27 billion, bringing the total net purchase for the first nine months to $8.79 billion.
In addition, it was reported that in September, the NBU’s interventions increased to $2.69 billion from $2.36 billion in August, while international financial support increased to $3 billion from $1.64 billion. In total, interventions amounted to $19.27 billion in the first nine months of the year.
Oil prices were stable in trading on Wednesday before the meeting of the OPEC+ Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC).
The price of December futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange at 8:10 a.m. on Wednesday is $90.88 per barrel, which is $0.04 (0.04%) lower than at the close of the previous session. On Tuesday, the price of these contracts increased by $0.21 (0.2%) to $90.92 per barrel.
November futures for WTI in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) fell by $0.02 (0.02%) to $89.21 per barrel by this time. As a result of previous trading, the value of these contracts increased by $0.41 (0.5%) to $89.23 per barrel.
The JMMC meeting, which will assess the situation on the global oil market, will be held online on Wednesday.
Traders’ attention is also focused on the weekly report of the US Department of Energy on energy reserves in the country, which will be released at 17:30 pm.
Experts surveyed by S&P Global Commodity Insights, on average, predict a 1.4 million barrel decline in US oil inventories last week. They also expect distillate stocks to fall by 1.6 million barrels, while gasoline stocks will remain unchanged.
Estimates by the American Petroleum Institute (API), released on Tuesday night, showed a 4.21 million barrel decline in US oil inventories in the week ended September 29.
The Kyiv authorities have increased funding for the Kyiv Defender program by UAH 1.26 billion, which will be used to support the capital’s security and defense forces, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
“At an extraordinary meeting, the Kyiv City Council has once again increased assistance to our defenders. In particular, the deputies voted to increase funding for the city’s targeted program “Kyiv Defender” by UAH 1 billion 260 million. These funds will be used to provide logistical support for the security and defense forces,” Klitschko wrote on his Telegram channel on Tuesday.
He clarified that the funds will be used “to purchase vehicles, UAVs, optical sights, night vision devices, repair and restore equipment, and other necessary things. This is a subvention, we transfer money to military units.”
Klitschko also said that the Department of Transport Infrastructure has been allocated more than UAH 1.2 billion to regulate fares for urban passenger transport, “because the price of a trip of UAH 8 has not corresponded to the cost of travel for a long time.”
“Since we are not raising the price, and transport companies need to work, we must provide them with this opportunity,” Klitschko said.
The Swedish government is proposing to allocate SEK333 million (about $30 million at the current exchange rate) for special export credit guarantees for companies trading with Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy announced on Tuesday.
According to the release, Swedish officials have included the relevant initiative in the draft budget for 2024, and the document is awaiting approval.
“The fact that Sweden will insure against risks in Ukraine starting next year is an important signal. This means that the investment insurance market in our country, despite all the security challenges, is starting to work. We are very grateful to the Swedish government and hope that this decision will be supported by the Riksdag,” First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko said.
The ministry clarified that the guarantees will be covered by the Swedish Export Credit Agency. They will apply to exports by Swedish companies of goods that can be classified as development assistance and will be applied to transactions for up to three years, but no later than the end of 2026.
The Ministry of Economy reminded that earlier, the export credit agencies of Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Japan had already confirmed their participation in political risk insurance for their companies’ operations in Ukraine. The Polish state-owned Export Credit Insurance Corporation (KUKE) is also ready to insure Ukrainian and international investors.
Energy imports, forecast, billion dollars
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
The truck market in Ukraine in January-September of this year increased by 70% compared to the same period in 2022 – up to 3.5 thousand units, in particular, in September the increase was 72%, according to the information and analytical group AUTO-Consulting.
“The positive news for the truck market in September is the strong demand for most segments of vehicles. Trucks were actively bought, ordered and received. Therefore, the result of 72% was quite natural. In addition, the business continues to rebuild its logistics and expand its own fleet,” the company said in a statement on its website on Tuesday.
At the same time, it is stated that growth is recorded by almost all operators, “but it is already becoming clear that a new leader of the Ukrainian truck market has taken the place of MAZ and KAMAZ.”
AUTO-Consulting notes that Swedish Scania has been leading in sales for four months in a row with a strong lead over its competitors.
“In September, Scania took 23.4% of the Ukrainian market, and 38% in the segment over 16 tons. In fact, we can say that it was Scania that took the market share of MAZ and KAMAZ, which are deprived of access to the Ukrainian market,” the report says.
Experts also note an almost threefold increase in sales compared to last year for MAN and Iveco, as well as active sales of DAF and Ford Tucks.
“Peugeot, Renault and Ford have begun to develop new segments, increasingly offering their vehicles instead of GAZ and Chinese manufacturers. Tractors and dump trucks are the top sellers, but many interesting projects are being implemented in the utilities and energy sectors. And here is a great merit of Ukrainian manufacturers of superstructures, who are actively experimenting with new chassis,” the experts say.
