Dollar hits record high for second day in a row, but National Bank curbs rate jumps

2024-12-18 10:58:24
Dollar hits record high for second day in a row, but National Bank curbs rate jumps

Yesterday, at 5:00 PM on the interbank foreign exchange market of Ukraine, the dollar was quoted at 41.88/41.93 UAH/$, and the euro at 43.99/44.03 UAH/€.


On December 18, the National Bank set the official dollar exchange rate at 41.83 UAH/$, weakening the hryvnia by 9 kopecks compared to the previous indicator. Thus, for the second day in a row, the dollar exchange rate has renewed its historical maximum. The euro exchange rate is set at 43.91 UAH/€, i.e. the hryvnia has lost 10 kopecks against this currency.


The National Bank's net sale of foreign exchange on the interbank market last week increased compared to the previous week from $785.4 million to $1.757 billion, which was the largest figure since the end of May this year and the second largest volume of sales for the year. Through active sales of foreign exchange, the NBU is trying to stabilize the exchange rate and reduce currency volatility.


The official dollar exchange rate has increased by 9.5% or UAH 3.60 since the beginning of the year, and since October 2023, when the National Bank introduced a managed flexibility regime, by 13.8% or UAH 5.03.


During the period January-October 2024, exports of goods from Ukraine increased by 15.7% compared to the same period in 2023 to $34.7 billion, and imports increased by 10% to $57.4 billion, respectively, the negative trade balance increased from $22.2 billion to $22.7 billion, and the import-export coverage ratio increased from 0.57 to 0.60.


Exports grew the most among the following categories of goods:
·       electric cars (+27.9%),
·       ferrous metals (+18%),
·       grain crops (+14.7%).

At the same time, imports increased in the following categories:
·       electric cars (+33.6%),
·       nuclear reactors, boilers, machines" (+23.2%)
·       land transport, except railway (+9%).
At the same time, imports of oil and its refined products decreased by 14.1%.


The rise in the dollar exchange rate will increase purchase prices for agricultural products, which will stimulate sales by farmers and increase foreign exchange earnings.

 

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