The total sales of foreign currency amounted to US$1.088 bln / Photo from UNIAN
Last year alone, the NBU bought US$7.9 billion on the interbank market to prop up the hryvnia.
The Ukrainian central bank's foreign currency sales exceeded purchases by US$1.038 billion on the country's interbank market this week, March 16 through March 20.
The total sales of foreign currency amounted to US$1.088 billion, but unlike the previous week, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) was able to buy US$50 million, it said on its website.
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According to the data, since the beginning of the year, the NBU has sold US$1.390 billion more than it bought on the interbank market.
Last week, the regulator spent US$981.6 million to support the hryvnia, and in 2019 it replenished its reserves by buying foreign currency on the interbank market to the tune of US$7.9 billion.
As reported by UNIAN, the National Bank of Ukraine set the official hryvnia exchange rate for Monday, March 23, at UAH 27.74 per U.S. dollar, having let the hryvnia strengthen after two-week devaluation against the dollar by six kopecks.
The hryvnia also strengthened on the interbank currency market: by the close of trading on Friday, quotes against the dollar were UAH 27.45/27.55 per U.S. dollar.
The rate at which the U.S. dollar was sold by Kyiv's currency exchange booths on Friday remained at the level of Wednesday and Thursday, which was UAH 28.50 per U.S. dollar.
Ukraine's forex market has been seeing increased demand for foreign currency for two weeks, which has been caused by the deterioration of market sentiment over the global spread of the coronavirus.