Net sales of dollars by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) increased from $262.6 million last week to $680.4 million this week, which is in line with the figures at the very beginning of the year, according to the regulator.
According to the data, sales of foreign currency increased from $263.0 million to $680.9 million, while purchases remained at a meager level, although they increased slightly – from $0.37 million to $0.46 million.
The official hryvnia exchange rate weakened by almost 11 kopecks over the week, from 38.7998 UAH/$1 to 38.9075 UAH/$1. According to the regulator, the exchange rate declined in the first half of the week, reaching a historic low of 39.1399 UAH/$1 on Wednesday, after which it strengthened by 21 kopecks on Thursday and then by another 2 kopecks on Friday.
On the cash market, the hryvnia exchange rate weakened by 29 kopecks over the week. Unlike the interbank market, after strengthening from 39.31 UAH/$1 to 39.16 UAH/$1 on Thursday, it fell back to 39.30 UAH/$1 on Friday.
The dynamics of the negative balance between the volume of purchases and sales of foreign currency by the population corresponded to the fluctuations of the hryvnia at that time: from $15.4 million on Monday, it rose to $20.7 million on Wednesday.
As reported, on March 20, Ukraine received the first tranche of EUR4.5 billion from the EU under the Ukraine Facility program and $1.5 billion from Canada, while before that, all external revenues amounted to only $1.2 billion since the beginning of the year. In addition, on Friday night, the IMF Board of Directors approved the disbursement of the fourth tranche of $880 million under the EFF Extended Fund Facility program to Ukraine, which should arrive in two to three days, and on March 22, the budget received $230 million from Japan as part of the World Bank’s agricultural recovery project.
According to the National Bank’s forecasts, Ukraine may receive external financing worth $10 billion or even more from mid-March to the end of April, against the $37.3 billion in the state budget for the whole year.
At the same time, representatives of the National Bank noted at a press conference on March 14 that such irregular external financing would not lead to any shocks in the foreign exchange market.
In February, the NBU’s net sales fell to $1.50 billion from $2.53 billion in January, $3.55 billion in December, and $2.45 billion in November. However, due to low external support, international reserves declined by 3.8%, or $1.47 billion, to $37.05 billion in February after falling by 4.9%, or $1.98 billion in January.
In January, the National Bank lowered its forecast for Ukraine’s international reserves at the end of 2024 to $40.4 billion from $44.7 billion.
Net sales of dollars by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), after jumping to $1 billion 101.79 million in the last week of last year, fell to $674.7 million in the first week of the new year.
According to the National Bank on its website, it bought $7.9 million from Jan. 2 to 6, which corresponds to the usual volume of purchases during the war, while it sold $682.6 million, compared to $1 billion 101.79 million a week earlier.
At the cash market the dollar went up again at the level of about 40.75 UAH/$1, but the spread has narrowed a bit.
As we informed, the volume of the NBU’s interventions in December increased to $3.16 bln from $1.57 bln in November and $2.03 bln in October.
Overall for 2022, the NBU bought $3 billion 268.0 million and EUR111.0 million from the market and sold $26 billion 380.6 million and EUR1 billion 789.1 million.
Including the purchase of foreign currency has reached $2 billion 611.1 million and EUR111.0 million since the war began, while the sale – $23 billion 610.4 million and EUR1 billion 789.1 million.
International reserves of the National Bank increased by 1.9% or $536.4 million in December to $28.491 billion due to currency receipts from international partners, which exceeded the NBU interventions to sell foreign currency to support the fixed rate.
Overall, they fell by 7.9%, or $2.45 bln in 2022.
Net sales of dollars by the National Bank of Ukraine this week fell to $166.1 million from $295.0 million a week earlier.
According to the National Bank on its website, it bought $16.1 million from November 14 to 18, which is slightly higher than usual purchase volumes during the war ($7-8 million), while it sold $182.2 million, compared to $326.5 million a week earlier.
At the cash market, the hryvnia appreciated by about UAH 0.3 during the week to about UAH 40.25 / $1. The spread between the selling and buying rates remains narrow.
The National Bank’s interventions in October amounted to $2.03 billion, as compared to $2.75 billion in September, $1.33 billion in August, and $1.2 billion in July, and remain far less than in June ($3.96 billion) and May ($3.4 billion).
In total, since the beginning of the year to November 18 inclusive, the NBU bought $3 billion 226.9 million and EUR111.0 million in the market, and sold $22 billion 427.0 million and EUR1 billion 789.1 million.
Since the beginning of the war the purchase of currency reached $2 billion 570.0 million and EUR111.0 million, while the sale reached $19 billion 656.8 million and EUR1 billion 789.1 million.
Ukraine’s international reserves as of November 1, 2022, according to the NBU, amounted to $25 billion 244.2 million (in equivalent), which is 5.5% more than at the beginning of October.
Net sales of dollars by the National Bank of Ukraine rose to $737.8 million last week compared to $510.7 million a week earlier and $475.0 million two weeks earlier.
According to the information of the National Bank on its website, from September 19 to 23, it purchased $7.1 million, which corresponds to the usual purchase volumes during the war, while it sold $744.9 million compared to $528.2 million a week earlier.
This week, on the cash market, the hryvnia again weakened by about 70 kopecks, and its rate came close to the level of UAH 43/$1, while the official rate of UAH 36.57/$1 was fixed since July 21, but by the end of the week it strengthened to UAH 42.7/$1. $1.
Since the beginning of September, the volume of interventions of the National Bank in the market has already exceeded $1.8 billion compared to $1.33 billion in August and $1.2 billion in July, but still remains much less than in June ($3.96 billion) and May ( $3.4 billion).
Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko said that in August the volume of foreign aid to Ukraine amounted to a record $4.6 billion since the beginning of the war, compared with $1.7 billion in July and $4.4 billion in June.
In general, from the beginning of the year to September 23 inclusive, the NBU purchased $3 billion 121.3 million and EUR111.0 million on the market, and sold $18 billion 607.7 million and EUR1 billion 789.1 million.
Including since the beginning of the war, the purchase of foreign currency has reached $2 billion 464.4 million and EUR111.0 million, and the sale – $15 billion 837.5 million and EUR1 billion 789.1 million.
The international reserves of Ukraine as of September 1, 2022, according to the NBU, amounted to $25.436 billion (in equivalent), which is 13.6% or $2.679 billion more than at the beginning of August. In July, the fall in reserves amounted to 1.6%, or $371.5 million, in June – 9.3%, or $2 billion 343.8 million.
The share of U.S. dollars of Ukraine’s forex reserves by late 2017 was 71%, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has said in an annual report for 2017.
“The National Bank, like most central banks in the world, preferred investing reserves in U.S. Treasury bonds. The foreign exchange structure of forex reserves by the end of the year was as follows: 71% – U.S. dollar, 12% – euros, 4% – Chinese yuan, 3% – British pound sterling, 6% – gold, 4% – other currencies,” the NBU said in the report.
In addition, according to the NBU report, in the structure of forex reserves in terms of tools 78% accounted for bonds, 16% – for funds in banks, and 6% – for gold, including 53% of bonds in the structure of reserves were public, 40% – quasi-public, 7% – of issuers of the financial sector.
