In December, international reserves increased by 1.9% to USD 28.491 billion.
This follows from a statement by the National Bank, the Ukrainian News agency reports.
According to preliminary data, Ukraine's international reserves as of January 1, 2023, amounted to USD 28.5 billion (USD 28,491.0 million).
In December, they increased by 1.9% compared to November 2022 thanks to foreign currency inflows from international partners, which exceeded the interventions of the NBU to sell foreign currency to maintain the fixed exchange rate.
In December, USD 4,468.4 million were transferred to the government's currency accounts at the National Bank.
Of them:
- USD 2,030.3 million – from the United States of America (through the World Bank Trust Fund);
- USD 598.7 million – from the European Union;
- USD 540.7 million – from the placement of currency bonds of the domestic state loan (OVDP);
- USD 402.0 million – from the World Bank;
- USD 367.8 million – from the Government of Canada;
- USD 528.9 million – from other international creditors.
The Government of Ukraine paid USD 833.9 million for servicing and repayment of the state debt in foreign currency.
In particular, USD 714.3 million is aimed at servicing and repayment of foreign currency government bonds, and USD 119.6 million - debt to other international creditors.
In addition, Ukraine paid USD 166.2 million to the International Monetary Fund.
Last month, the NBU sold USD 3,193.1 million on the foreign exchange market and bought USD 29.6 million for reserves.
Therefore, the net sale of currency by the National Bank in December increased to USD 3,163.5 million.
The increase in the NBU's interventions on the sale of foreign currency last month is primarily related to the seasonal factor - the intensification of budget expenditures at the end of the year.
The foreign exchange market was also affected by the high demand of business and the population for the import of alternative energy sources and the increase in the import of fuel for their work in the conditions of electricity shortage caused by Russian terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure of Ukraine.
During 2022, Ukraine's international reserves decreased by 7.9%.
Last year, according to balance sheet data, Ukraine received about USD 32.1 billion in international financial support.
The largest financial assistance came from the United States of America – USD 12 billion, the European Union – USD 8 billion, the IMF – USD 2.7 billion, Canada – USD 1.9 billion, and Germany – USD 1.6 billion.
In addition, in 2022, the country received about USD 3.1 billion thanks to the placement of currency government bonds.
This, together with international aid, made it possible to offset a significant part of the NBU's net interventions from the sale of foreign currency (USD 25 billion) and the country's payments for servicing and repaying the state debt in foreign currency (USD 9.1 billion).
The National Bank in 2022 was a net seller of currency on the market.
Until February 23, the NBU sold currency to smooth out excessive fluctuations in the exchange rate against the background of increased geopolitical tensions, and from February 24 - in order to maintain the fixation of the official hryvnia exchange rate, which still remains an anchor for the economy and made it possible to maintain control over inflationary processes.
The current volume of international reserves provides financing for 3.6 months of future imports.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in 2021, international reserves increased by 6% to USD 30.941 billion.
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