The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) responded to high demand for foreign currency and sold about $350 million in the interbank foreign exchange market on March 11, the central bank’s press service reported on Facebook.
“As before, we believe that the deterioration of sentiment in the financial markets is caused more by a psychological factor, first and foremost, due to the spread of coronavirus worldwide, although in terms of economic indicators its impact on Ukraine is neutral. In particular, a certain fall in prices for our exports is offset by cheaper imports, especially energy imports,” the NBU said.
The regulator stressed that it had sufficient strength to smooth excessive exchange rate fluctuations caused by nervous sentiment. As of March 11, Ukraine’s international reserves exceed $26 billion, the NBU said.
“We are ready to continue to carry out interventions on the sale of foreign currency if need be,” the NBU added.
The NBU sold $270 million on the interbank market on March 10. (Ukrinform/Business World Magazine)