Growth In Incomes Of Population Not Compensate For Growth In Spending On Essential Goods - NBU Council Head Danylyshyn

The head of the Council of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), Bohdan Danylyshyn, states that the growth in incomes of the population does not compensate for the growth in spending on essential goods.

He wrote about this on Facebook, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"The growth in real money incomes of the population (salaries, pensions, other cash transfers) for 9 months of 2021 amounted to only 3% and could not compensate for the growth in household spending on essential goods and services. As a result, household savings decreased by UAH 88 billion (-2.4% of GDP)," Danylyshyn said.

The head of the council said that, according to the International Monetary Fund, in Ukraine, the purchasing power of income per capita remains the lowest in Europe.

Danylyshyn also said that Ukraine's GDP growth in 2021 will be, according to preliminary estimates, 3.2%, which, in turn, does not compensate for the drop in economic activity in 2020 (-4.0% per year).

He added that this is also below the corresponding figures in neighboring countries of Eastern Europe, noting that only 10.1% of GDP comes from investment.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in 2020, real gross domestic product decreased by 4.0% compared to 2019.

Besides, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development retained its forecast for Ukraine's GDP growth of 3.5% in 2021 and 2022.