Page 35 - UKRRptFeb19

5.1 External sector overview
5.2 Balance of payments, current account
Ukraine C/A deficit shrinks to $0.3bn in November . Ukraine’s current account (C/A) deficit shrank to $299mn in November from $823mn in October due to a smaller trade deficit, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported on December 29. The trade deficit declined to $1.3bn in November from $1.7bn in October, while the primary and secondary balances stayed in surplus and didn’t undergo significant changes. In 11M18, the C/A deficit amounted to $4.4bn (vs. $1.7bn in 11M17).
The trade deficit shrank as goods exports swelled to $4.1bn, the highest amount since September 2014. Food exports surged 27.7% y/y amid record-high exports of grains (in physical volume). At the same time, metals exports plummeted 24.3% y/y (vs. 3.2% growth in October). Machinery exports dropped 4.8% y/y (vs. a 15.8% y/y surge in October). With these uneven trends, goods exports slowed to 6.2% y/y growth in November from 11.4% y/y in October.
Meanwhile, goods imports slowed to 12.7% y/y growth (from 21.8% y/y growth in October). Machinery imports rose 23.5% y/y growth (from 34.6% y/y growth in October). Metals imports grew 20.4% y/y (vs. 31.7% y/y growth in the previous month).
35 UKRAINE Country Report February 2019 www.intellinews.com