From 09:00 on July 21, 2022, the National Bank of Ukraine adjusted the official exchange rate of the hryvnia against the US dollar by 25% – from UAH 29.2549/$1 to UAH 36.5686/$1, taking into account changes in the fundamental characteristics of the Ukrainian economy during the war and strengthening of the US dollar against other currencies, according to a message on the NBU website.
“Such a step will increase the competitiveness of Ukrainian producers, bring together the exchange rate conditions for different business groups and the population and maintain the stability of the economy in a war,” the National Bank said.
He stressed that the official exchange rate of the hryvnia against the US dollar continues to be fixed.
“With the high uncertainty caused by the war, a fixed official exchange rate against the US dollar is the main anchor for stabilizing expectations and a key means of achieving the NBU’s priority goals. They are to ensure price and financial stability, which is an important condition for economic recovery,” the regulator explains its position.
The National Bank of Italy and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) have launched a program for exchanging hryvnia for euros for Ukrainian refugees since June 21, the NBU press service reported on Friday.
According to the report, Ukrainians who have been granted a temporary residence permit in Italy or international protection will be able to exchange hryvnias in the amount of up to UAH 10,000 per person.
The exchange will be available at branches of the Italian Central Bank and branches of commercial partner banks (more than 400 branches throughout the country).
As reported, the hryvnia cash exchange program has already been launched in Poland, Germany, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands.
The National Bank of Sweden and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) will launch a program for Ukrainian refugees to exchange hryvnia cash for Swedish krona approximately from June 15, the NBU press service reported on Thursday.
According to the report, adult Ukrainians registered in Sweden will be able to exchange hryvnia in 53 branches of the Forex company in the amount of up to UAH 10,000 per person.
Denominations of UAH 100, UAH 200, UAH 500 and UAH 1,000 will be accepted for exchange.
As reported, Germany from May 24, and Belgium from June 1 launched a program for exchanging cash hryvnia for euros.
Alexey Blinov, head of the analytical department at Alfa-Bank, expects the stabilization of the hryvnia card rate for individuals in June and the preservation of the rates of exporters and importers.
“For June, we can predict the preservation of the rates of exporters and importers. As for the bank cash market for individuals, it has more or less stabilized and I don’t think that there will be such jumps that we saw this spring,” he said during the Finclub round table on Tuesday .
His opinion was shared by associate expert of “CASE Ukraine”, ex-deputy director of the financial stability department of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Yevhen Dubogryz, who also noted the stabilization of the exchange rate compared to the jumps observed in the spring.
“It seems to me that we will have a creeping devaluation. Even if the NBU weighs this, there is still pressure on the hryvnia, since we have a war, problems with exports, with the fact that we do not receive the amount of funds from our partners, which we are very necessary,” the expert said.
He noted the existence of a small issue of the hryvnia, which affects inflation not directly, but through inflationary expectations.
“Over time, the NBU will change the course, of course, in the direction of the dollar’s rise in price,” Dubogryz pointed out.
As reported, on February 24, the National Bank suspended the work of the foreign exchange market of Ukraine, except for the sale of foreign currency, and fixed the exchange rate at the official level of that day – UAH 29.2549/$1, which led to the emergence of a “black” market, where in the first days the exchange rate reached 39-40 UAH/$1.
Later, the regulator allowed the sale of currency in branches under the threat of capture by the occupiers, by decision of their management, and from May 21, it canceled the upper limit of both the rate of selling cash currency by banks in Ukraine and the rate of converting the hryvnia into foreign currency on their cards outside the country. Previously, the ceiling for such an exchange rate was the official hryvnia exchange rate fixed on the first day of the war plus 10%, or UAH 32.18/$1. The ceiling for other currencies was calculated at the cross rate against the dollar.
The Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Bank of Germany, German banks and the National Bank of Ukraine will launch a program for Ukrainian refugees to exchange cash hryvnia for euros on May 24, the press service of the German Ministry of Finance said.
According to the report, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Bank of Germany have signed an agreement with the National Bank of Ukraine on the initial volume of exchange of 1.5 billion UAH.
It is stated that refugees can exchange 100, 200, 500 and 1000 banknotes (up to 10 thousand hryvnias) for euros in German banks and savings banks participating in the program.
The conversion into euros takes place at the exchange rate published on the Bundesbank website (www.bundesbank.de/wechselkurse-ua), the report said.
The press service noted that the exchange will be registered in an online application submitted by the European Central Bank to ensure that the individual maximum amount of the exchange is not exceeded, for which the identity of each adult refugee wishing to participate in the exchange is recorded and verified.
It is specified that the exchange is initially possible within three months, and the losses resulting from the exchange are borne by the federal budget.
The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine at primary auctions on Tuesday, April 19, for the first time will offer buyers the full range of military bonds – both hryvnia and currency in dollars and euros.
According to the announcement of the Ministry of Finance, in particular, hryvnia military bonds with maturity in 6 months will be put up for auction. and 14 months, as well as 12 months. dollar bonds and 7-month. euro bonds.
Rates on these hryvnia bonds at the last auctions were respectively 10% and 11% per annum, on dollar bonds – 3.7%, and on euro bonds – 2.5% per annum.
As reported, the Ministry of Finance last week, at the seventh auctions for the placement of military bonds, was able to attract UAH 6.17 billion compared to UAH 0.96 billion a week earlier and UAH 3.33-4.88 billion in the previous three weeks. Currency notes were not offered last Tuesday.
The total volume of issuance of military bonds is up to UAH 400 billion. They can be bought by the National Bank, which has already purchased these securities under a separate procedure for UAH 40 billion.
At market auctions since March 1, their sales amounted to UAH 34.9 billion, $11.9 million and EUR143.4 million.
