Ukrainians set four-year record in foreign currency sales amid pandemic

Chairman of the of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Council Bohdan Danylyshyn says Ukrainian households' net supply of foreign currency since the beginning of April 2021 has reached US$422 million, which hit a four-year high in foreign currency sales by the population.

Read alsoUkraine to place US$1.25 bln in eurobonds"The market was balancing due to sales of foreign currency by banks at their own currency position, which was supported by their net purchases of foreign currency from individuals, the net sales of which in April reached a four-year high, that is, US$422 million," he wrote on Facebook on April 27.

Against the background of the de-escalation of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Danylyshyn says, the pressure on the forex rate of the hryvnia, Ukraine's national currency, on the interbank market weakened, which led to its strengthening by 0.5% against the U.S. dollar.

"For the third week in a row, the National Bank has not participated in operations on the forex market due to the absence of excessive pressure on the hryvnia exchange rate," he said.

Background

In 2020, Ukrainian citizens sold US$15.951 billion through the banking system, which was US$1.098 billion more in cash foreign currency than they bought.