REUTERS
Ukraine’s key creditor, the International Monetary Fund, forecasts growth in the country’s foreign exchange reserves to $38.7 billion by 2020, according to a new report by the IMF.
At the same time, in 2015, Ukrainian foreign exchange reserves are expected to increase by 2.5 times – to $18.3 billion compared to current levels, and on average by $5-6 billion in the years to follow, the report says.
According to IMF estimates, the hryvnia exchange rate against the dollar will fluctuate within the range of UAH 21.7-23.70 to the dollar in the period to 2020.
The IMF also predicts the positive export-import dynamics in 2016 – with average growth being 5%. By 2020, annual export growth will amount, according to IMF estimates, to about 6.5%, while imports will grow by 7.9%.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the forex reserves of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in February 2015 fell by 12.4%, to $5.625 billion, according to the NBU's official web site. The country's forex reserves hit new lows not seen for more than 11 years, when they plunged to $6.218 billion in June 2003.
As reported, on March 11, the IMF approved a new four-year lending program worth $17.5 billion to save the Ukrainian economy. On March 13, Ukraine received the first tranche under the new program, amounting to $5 billion, of which $2.8 billion are to be used for budget support, and $2.2 billion to replenish the country’s foreign exchange reserves.