The deficit of Ukraine’s foreign trade in goods in January-November 2018 increased by 66.6% compared with January-November 2017 and amounted to $8.866 billion, the State Statistics Service has reported.
According to its data, in November the deficit amounted to $920 million, whereas in October it was $1.48 billion, in September $1.46 billion, in August $940 million, in July $1.41 billion, in June $600 million, in May $630 million, April $220 million, March $460 million, February $460 million, and in January $280 million.
In January-November 2018, exports of goods compared to the same period in 2017 rose by 9.9%, reaching $43.25 billion, imports by 16.7%, to $52.11 billion.
The State Statistics Service said that in November 2018 compared with the previous month the seasonally adjusted export volume grew by 4.7%, reaching $3.98 billion, while imports decreased by 1.1%, to $4.88 billion.
The rate of coverage of imports by exports for the 11 months of this year was 0.83 against 0.88 in January-November 2017.
The State Statistics Service said that foreign trade operations were conducted with partners from 220 countries of the world.
PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region) in 2018 increased its capital and operating expenses by 31.6% compared to 2017, to $443.4 million from $337 million.
According to a press release of the company, $348.8 million were capital investments, $94.6 million were operating costs.
In 2019, the company intends to invest more than $450 million.
At the same time, the press service clarifies that one of the key projects in 2018 is the construction of two new continuous casting machines worth about $144 million. Hot tests of one of the continuous casting machines will begin in February of this year. It is also planned to complete the reconstruction of small section mill No. 250-4 in spring, the volume of investments in it will be about $55 million.
KyivESKO LLC and JSC Commercial Industrial Bank on January 14, 2019 signed a first energy service contract in Ukraine for the amount of around UAH 3 million, using the factoring tool. The Ukrainian Association of Energy Service Companies wrote on its Facebook page that the contract was signed with the technical assistance of the UNDP project and the State Agency for Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving.
The tool allows borrowing without collateralized property, the association said. The guarantee for the loan would be money flows from energy service contracts, which KyivESKO LLC has.
In August 2018, specialists of the State Agency for Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving and experts of the UNDP project studied various models of using energy service mechanisms in European countries, in particular in Latvia, where two funds for the energy service purposes using the factoring tool were created with the help of the financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and public funds.
The implementation of the firsts factoring contract in the energy service area would allow other companies and financial institutions to use this experience, the association said.
KyivESKO LLC signed its first energy service contract in the housing sphere with Politekhnik housing and construction cooperative in Kyiv.
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
Electricity generation in the united energy system of Ukraine in 2018 increased by 2.5% compared to 2017, to 159.351 billion kWh, the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry has told Interfax-Ukraine.
At that time, nuclear power plants (NPP) in the period reduced electricity generation by 1.4%, to 84.398 billion kWh, in particular, electricity generation at Zaporizhia NPP amounted to 35.924 billion kWh (4.1% more than in 2017), Yuzhnoukrainsk NPP to 18.329 billion kWh (2.4% more), Rivne NPP to 17.55 billion kWh (11.3% less), and Khmelnytsky NPP to 12.595 billion kWh (down by 5.9%).
Thermal power plants (TPP), as well as combined heat and power plants (CHPP) and cogeneration plants increased output by 5.3%, to 58.808 billion kWh. In particular, the generating companies of TPPs increased production by 6.3%, to 47.792 billion kWh, while CHPP and cogeneration plants by 1.2%, to 11.016 billion kWh.
Hydro power plants and hydroelectric pumped storage power plants raised production in 2018 by 13.6%, to 12.008 billion kWh, while block stations reduced by 1.9%, to 1.504 billion kWh.
Electricity production by alternative sources (wind power plants, solar plants, and biomass) in 2018 rose by 38.8%, to 2.633 billion kWh.
The share of NPPs in the structure of electricity generation was 53% (55.1% in 2017), that of TPP, CHPP and cogeneration plants – 36.9% (35.9%), hydro power plants and hydroelectric pumped storage power plants – 7.5% (6.8%), block stations – 0.9% (1%) and alternative sources – 1.7% (1.2%).
Electricity generation in Ukraine’s power grid in December 2018 rose by 7.2% year-over-year, to 15.871 billion kWh.
Heat generation last year rose by 0.3%, to 22.032 million gigacalories.
