Ukraine finance minister says UAH rate set in 2018 budget "realistic"

"We were guided by such a hryvnia exchange rate, when drawing up the budget. We believe it is realistic for the next year," the minister told a briefing on Dec 19, answering the question about the hryvnia's rate set in the 2018 state budget at nearly UAH 30 to the dollar.

There is no reason to consider the rate unrealistic, the minister believes.

Danyliuk has not specified the exchange rate targets. However, the average annual rate of hryvnia in the draft state budget was set at UAH 29.3 to the dollar, while the end-year exchange rate – at UAH 30.1 to the dollar. Representatives of the Finance Ministry told the briefing the indicators had not been changed after the consideration of the budget by Parliament.

As UNIAN reported earlier, a U.S. dollar in Kyiv exchange officers on Dec 19 cost UAH 28.2 - UAH 28.4, while on Dec 18 it was UAH 28.8.

According to experts, the current hryvnia devaluation was predictable, and is associated with an increase in budgetary payments at the end of the year.

Read alsoLife without IMF tranches: hryvnia might drop below UAH 30 to dollarThe National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) believes there are no fundamental grounds today for the devaluation of the hryvnia. The current volatility of the forex market is caused by seasonal and psychological factors.

The NBU says it is possible to stabilize the foreign exchange market through interventions, without introducing new administrative restrictions.

Read alsoAnti-corruption court should satisfy IMF – Ukraine’s Finance MinisterThe state budget of Ukraine for 2017 assumes the average annual rate of hryvnia at the level of about UAH 27 to the dollar.

Hryvnia's historic low against the U.S. dollar was at UAH 30.01/USD in February 2015.