According to NBU data, in July, the Ukrainian population bought 1,024.4 million dollars more currency than it sold. This was the highest indicator since the beginning of the current year.
This information is provided in the reports of the National Bank of Ukraine.
On the cash foreign exchange market in July, the net purchase of currency by Ukrainians exceeded its sale.
In July, citizens of Ukraine sold currencies in the amount of 1,331.4 million dollars in equivalent, but purchased in the amount of 2,355.8 million dollars in equivalent.
For the entire year 2023, the population purchased 3,362.1 million dollars more currency than it sold.
In the second quarter of 2024, pressure on the hryvnia exchange rate increased due to an increase in net demand for foreign currency. As the National Bank notes, in July, due to situational and psychological factors, the net demand for the currency significantly exceeded the expected structural deficit of the currency, which led to a significant weakening of the hryvnia exchange rate.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, Danylo Hetmantsev, reported that volatility on the foreign exchange market and devaluation pressure on the hryvnia have increased. The demand for currency in the cash and non-cash segments significantly exceeds the supply, in particular under the influence of the gradual currency liberalization carried out by the National Bank.
According to him, this, first of all, reflects the decrease in external financing and the corresponding state of the balance of payments. For 7 months of last year, external financing of the budget amounted to 25.3 billion dollars, while for 7 months of this year – 16 billion dollars. In the first half of last year, there was a slight surplus in the balance of payments at the level of 7.8 billion dollars, while this year it turned into a deficit of 2.5 billion dollars.
