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5.2.2 Gross international reserves
Ukraine's international reserves increased by 0.8% month-on-month to $22bn in August following a 5.8% m/m growth in July, according to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
August's almost flat result was attributed to the fact that the regulator's net purchase of foreign currency in the interbank market offset the cost of repaying and servicing the state debt.
At the same time, the favourable situation on the foreign exchange market, which continued as a result of the positive pricing environment for Ukrainian exports, a high grain harvesting and moderate import volumes, despite the weakening inflow of foreign investment in government securities, led to an excess of currency supply over demand, according to the NBU.
Specifically, the NBU bought $177mn through interventions at the best exchange rate and $139.2mn at a single rate in the interbank market. The central bank intervened to sell foreign currency in the amount of $16.8mn.
As of early August, Kyiv's international reserves covered 3.5 months of Ukraine’s imports and "were sufficient for Ukraine to meet its obligations and for the government and the NBU to conduct their current transactions", according to the regulator.
31 UKRAINE Country Report October 2019 www.intellinews.com
