The Australian Government will provide another AUD31 million (almost $20.6 million) in aid to meet Ukraine’s energy and humanitarian needs, according to a joint press release from the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Development and Pacific Affairs.
“The new contribution includes AUD20 million to the Energy Support Fund for Ukraine, which will allow the funds to be used effectively and efficiently to provide Ukrainians with heat and electricity,” the document says.
According to the document, Australia will also provide AUD10 million to the UN Humanitarian Fund to support displaced persons and vulnerable groups to increase access to basic necessities such as water, food and shelter.
A further AUD1 million has been allocated through the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to improve services for people with disabilities in Ukraine, including those in need of rehabilitation from war trauma.
“The Australian government remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine and doing its part with partner countries to ensure that Ukraine can end this conflict on its own terms,” said Minister for International Development Pat Conroy.
It is specified that in total, Australia has allocated more than AUD1 billion in aid to Ukraine, including AUD880 million in military support.
“The Albanese government (Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – IF-U) unwaveringly supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong emphasized.
The Energy Support Fund for Ukraine was established jointly by the European Commission and the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine. The Fund coordinates international donations and works in partnership with the Government of Ukraine to ensure that Ukraine’s highest priority energy needs are met.
Since August 2023, the sea corridor created by the Ukrainian Navy has exported 50 million tons of cargo, according to Yuriy Vaskov, former Deputy Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure (Ministry of Reconstruction).
“According to my information, exports via the grain corridor have already reached 50 million tons,” Vaskov said at the Grain Ukraine-2024 conference on Thursday.
The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade reported that from August to May 10, 45 million tons of cargo were exported to 44 countries through the grain corridor.
Last Tuesday, the head of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA), Yuriy Lytvyn, said that the results of the Ukrainian “grain corridor” were almost one and a half times higher than those of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. According to him, the rate of grain cargo transportation over eight months is already 10% higher than the results of the grain initiative for the year.
Estimated number of population in regions of Ukraine based on number of active mobile sim cards (mln)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Prices for benchmark crude oil are slightly declining on Friday morning after falling during the previous session.
The cost of July futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 8:14 a.m. is $81.75 per barrel, which is 11 cents lower than at the close of the previous trading. On Thursday, these contracts fell by $1.74 (2.1%) to $81.86 per barrel.
Futures for WTI for July in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) fell by $0.23 (0.3%) to $77.68 per barrel by this time. The day before, futures fell by $1.32 (1.7%) to $77.91 per barrel.
Pressure on the quotes was exerted by a general decline in investor interest in risky assets, which also led to a decline in US stock indices and an increase in US government bond yields.
“The US economy remains resilient, and inflation remains a concern. Under such conditions, the Federal Reserve has the ability to keep rates high for a long time, which is bad for oil demand forecasts and puts pressure on prices,” said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades.
Even the data that commercial oil stocks in the US fell by 4.16 million barrels last week, while experts expected a decline of 1.15 million barrels, failed to support the market.
Meanwhile, gasoline stocks increased by 2.02 million barrels and distillate stocks by 2.54 million barrels. Analysts had forecast a decrease in gasoline stocks by 1.5 million barrels and the same level of distillate stocks.
In a new video on its YouTube channel, Kyiv-based think tank Experts Club has presented an analysis of economic trends in the first quarter of 2024 in Ukraine and globally based on official data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the NBU, the UN, the World Bank, and expert forecasts.
Macroeconomic indicators of Ukraine
According to the Center’s founder, Maksym Urakin, in the first quarter of 2024, Ukraine’s GDP grew by 4.1% to 5.3% compared to the same period last year.
“The main growth factors were an increase in agricultural exports and production activity in certain industries. However, the negative balance of foreign trade in goods in the first quarter amounted to almost $6 billion, which is 10% more than last year. This is due to an increase in energy imports after the strikes on the Ukrainian energy sector in March,” Urakin said.
According to the founder of the Experts Club, Ukraine’s national debt has reached a new historical high of $151 billion, which is almost 6 trillion hryvnia in hryvnia equivalent. Inflation in Ukraine in the first quarter was 1% year-on-year, which is in line with the NBU’s target range.
Global economy
Maksym Urakin noted that analysts forecast that the global economy will grow by 2% in 2024, which is lower than expected at the end of last year. The main reasons for the slowdown are high interest rates in developed countries and global geopolitical uncertainty.
“The US economy grew by 1.6% in the first quarter of 2024, which is lower than the growth rate observed in previous quarters, but still at an acceptable level for the development of the country’s economy. China’s economy grew by 5% due to a partial recovery from the crisis and government injections into the technology cluster,” the expert summarized.
He also reminded that the European Commission expects the eurozone economy to grow by only 0.8% in 2024, even less than 1%.
“High inflation and weak domestic demand remain the main problems of the EU countries. However, the British economy showed a modest growth of 0.6%, which indicates a weak recovery after the pandemic and Brexit,” Urakin said.
The economic situation in the world remains tense and depends on many factors, including geopolitical risks and changes in the global economic and political landscape. Experts Club will continue to monitor the situation and provide up-to-date and balanced news.
You can learn more about the macroeconomics of Ukraine and the world in the video by following the link:
Subscribe to the Experts Club channel:
From May 30 to June 8, the Goldens auction house will hold 61 auctions – “Collectible Classical Art” – dedicated to works by Ukrainian classics of the 1890s and early twentieth century.
Such an artistic cross-section allows for a broad representation of Ukrainian art in its diversity of schools and trends. In particular, the auction selection includes works by artists of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, and Transcarpathian schools of painting, as well as by emigrant artists: Hryhoriy Kruk, Isaac Pailes, and Abram Manevich. The selection includes unique works of both artistic and collector’s interest.
Among the top lots of the auction are works by Serhiy Vasylkivsky, Volodymyr Orlovsky, Hryhoriy Svitlytsky, Abram Manevich, Mykola Hlushchenko, Serhiy Shyshko, Viktor Zaretsky, Mykhailo Bozhiy, Roman Selsky, Mihay Munkachi and the main representatives of the Transcarpathian School of Painting: Adalbert Erdelyi, Yosyp Bokshai, Andriy Kotska, Fedir Manailo, and Ferenc Seman.
The most expensive lot of the auction was Ivan Marchuk’s famous work “The Moon Rises Over the Dnipro” (1980), recently exhibited at the National Museum “Kyiv Art Gallery” as the artist’s most iconic lunar landscape.
The Kyiv school of art is represented in the selection by works by Serhiy Vasylkivsky, Valentyn Feldman, Volodymyr Orlovsky, as well as Oleksiy Shovkunenko, Serhiy Shyshko, Mykola Hlushchenko, and Viktor Zaretsky. Among the representatives of the Kharkiv school in the auction’s selection, it is worth noting the names of outstanding landscape painters: Mykola Burachek, Petro Levchenko, and Konstantin Pineev. Their impressionistic works incorporated the world’s leading trends and at the same time the color, techniques and worldview inherent in our national school.
Transcarpathia and the Lviv School of Art became separate centers of Ukrainian art of the twentieth century, with a sensitive perception of modern trends in world art and their reinterpretation on the creative Ukrainian soil. The auction selection includes works by iconic Transcarpathian artists Andriy Kotska, Yosyp Bokshai, Fedir Manailo, Adalbert Erdeli, Havrylo Hluk, Ferenc Seman, as well as iconic Lviv artists Roman Selskyi and Volodymyr Patyk.
The sculpture block is represented by a composition by Olga Rapai, works by Hryhorii Kruk and an exquisite sculpture by Yuliia Synkevych.
The exposition of the auction “Collectible Classical Art” is open to the public from May 30 to June 08 in the hall of the Goldens auction house, as well as online at www.gs-art.com. For registration and participation in the auction, please call: (044) 240 95 32 or register online to be able to place online bids yourself.
Schedule of the auction exhibition:
May 30 – June 08, 2024
12:00 – 19:00
Without days off
Entrance is free
Alternate closing of lots will start on June 08 at 19:00 online at www.gs-art.com.
Address: Kyiv, 4 Leonid Pervomaisky str.
GOLDENS auction house
+38 044 240 95 32
contact@gs-art.com
www.gs-art.com
