The amount of cash in the hands of Ukrainians has increased by $10B.

According to the National Bank, during March-October 2022, the amount of foreign currency outside the banking system increased by $8.1B, and according to the results of the first 10 months of 2022, by $9.9B. Over the same period last year, the increase in the amount of liquid currency was much smaller. In the first 10 months of 2021, it amounted to only $3.9B, and for the whole of last year, only $5.1B. The National Bank attributes this trend primarily to the cash possessed by Ukrainians who have gone abroad. At the same time, the physical volume of not only foreign currency but also hryvnia in circulation has increased by 10.4% since the beginning of the year. The sharp increase in cash outside banks this year has come during periods of significant uncertainty related to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February and energy terrorism in the fall.