Photo from UNIAN
Money remittances from labor migrants may shrink from US$12 billion in 2019, to US$10 billion.
Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Yakiv Smolii has said the regulator predicts a decline in remittances from Ukrainian labor migrants in 2020 due to a lockdown introduced in the country over the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
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"In 2019, [labor migrants'] remittances totaled US$12 billion. This year, we expect US$10 billion. But this will be compensated by the fact that citizens cannot go on holiday abroad," he told the BBC's Ukrainian service on May 16.
According to Smolii, Ukrainians used to spend between US$8 billion and US$10 billion annually while on vacation abroad.
"Due to the fact that there are travel restrictions, people will not be able to go abroad and spend the funds. This is not good, of course, but it will become compensation in abundance," he added.
The official believes that Ukrainians will not "rush to buy dollars" after the quarantine is over, as they will first start spending the funds that have left over deferred demand.
"Although demand will still be quite deferred, we expect a slight growth in consumption, when compared with quarantine, rather than an increase in foreign exchange savings or forex transactions," he summed up.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Smolii on May 13 said that excess demand for foreign currency in the country had subsided, while the supply on the forex market had grown from the period before the coronavirus epidemic.
The official assured that banks had enough foreign currency in cash.