REUTERS
Fluctuations in the forex market have traditionally been a key factor influencing public debt.
Ukraine's Finance Ministry says the country's public and government-guaranteed debt, estimated in the hryvnia, Ukraine's national currency, was down by 2.7% to UAH 2,196 trillion (US$81.7 billion) in April 2020, while that in the U.S. dollar equivalent rose by 1.3% to US$81.4 billion.
"Fluctuations in the forex market have traditionally been a key factor influencing the public debt. According to the National Bank, the hryvnia revaluation against the U.S. dollar in April 2020 stood at 4.04%," the Ukrainian Finance Ministry said on its website on May 26.
"Investors' activity in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic and expectations of a possible global economy recession were low. Only one of the four auctions scheduled by the Finance Ministry was actually held in April. Following the April 28 auctions, the national budget raised UAH 9.8 billion [US$364.7 million]," the report said.
The ministry comfortably passed a period of unfavorable conditions on the domestic capital market, while timely fulfilling its financial obligations in full.
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It is noted that more than half of the funds raised were hryvnia-denominated government domestic loan bonds. The weighted average yield of three-month bonds was 11.24%, while the funds raised exceeded UAH 5.3 billion (US$197.2 million). Moreover, the national budget received another UAH 4.5 billion (US$167.5 million) from the placement of six- and eight-month bonds denominated in U.S. dollars, which weighted average yield stood at 3.29% and 3.5%, respectively.
Over the period under review, the ministry's public debt repayments amounted to UAH 9.9 billion (US$368.4 million), while spending on public servicing totaled UAH 9 billion (US$334.9 million).
"The Finance Ministry's priority among external sources of financing remains cooperation with international financial organizations and partner countries to ensure the stability of public finances," the ministry summed up.
As UNIAN reported earlier. Ukraine's state and government-guaranteed debt in 2019 increased in dollar terms by US$6.05 billion, or 7.7%, to US$84.36 billion.
Public debt in the hryvnia equivalent shrank by UAH 170.17 billion (US$6.3 billion), or 7.8%, for the reporting period, to UAH 1.998 trillion (US$74.4 billion).
The debt-to-GDP ratio as of January 1, 2020, stood at 50%.