The purchase of foreign currency by the Ukrainian population has increased by 250% compared to the previous year. In the last 12 months, the population bought foreign currency worth $10.6B, including $8.2B since the beginning of 2024. This is 33% of the volume of international aid that has been sent to Ukraine, the former chairman of the NBU Council, Bohdan Danylyshyn, points out.
During the 15 banking days in October to date, consumers bought $977M of foreign currency; during the 15 banking days of October last year, $576M (+70%) was purchased. The NBU spent $23.4B (+21%) over nine months to support hryvnia stability. In September, the NBU’s currency interventions averaged $153M daily (+100% compared to the beginning of the year).
According to Danylyshyn, “October 2023 became the peak since the beginning of the war, both in terms of the volume of NBU interventions and the volume of currency purchases by the population”.
“According to the NBU, demand should have subsided over time. Instead, it has only increased significantly,” the ex-chairman of the NBU Council noted.