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5.2 Balance of payments, current account
Ukraine’s current account (C/A) deficit reached $512mn in August,
shrinking somewhat from $595mn in July, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported on September 30.
The trade deficit contracted to $1.2bn from $1.4bn in the previous month. The primary income surplus amounted to $407mn (vs. $478mn in July), while the secondary income surplus was $258mn (vs. $303mn in July).
In 8M19, the C/A deficit amounted to $1.8bn (vs. $2.0bn in 8M18).
In August, the goods trade deficit swelled to $1.3bn from $1.0bn in July.
Goods exports growth slowed to 5.6% y/y to reach $4.9bn (vs. a 20.8% y/y surge in July).
Goods imports slowed to 8.2% y/y growth to reach $5.2bn (from 9.1% y/y growth in July).
The weaker export growth was mostly due to a 16.0% y/y fall in metal exports (vs. 1.2% y/y growth in July). In addition, machinery exports declined 0.8% y/y (vs. a 43.2% surge in July). Food exports slowed to 19.7% y/y growth (vs. a 36.5% y/y jump in July).
The slower growth of goods imports was mostly due to weaker growth of machinery imports (24.8% y/y growth in August vs 36.0% y/y in July).
The financial account surplus shrank to $0.6bn from $1.8bn in July. The foreign currency inflow was mostly generated by trade credits (the net inflow of
27 UKRAINE Country Report October 2019 www.intellinews.com
