The Ukrainian Finance Ministry will sell $340 million to the National Bank of Ukraine to replenish Ukraine's foreign currency reserves, which should empower the National Bank to stabilize the exchange rate, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.
“We decided this morning that, to stabilize the Ukrainian currency exchange rate, the Finance Ministry will sell $340 million to the National Bank of Ukraine’s reserves. This will increase the National Bank’s reserves and will provide it with more opportunities to stabilize the currency exchange rate,” Yatsenyuk said during a ceremony of signing a memorandum on cooperation between the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers and the Ukrainian World Congress.
It was reported earlier that the hryvnia exchange rate dropped on the inter-bank currency market to a record low of Hr 14.3000-14.7000/$1 on Aug. 27.
The National Bank on Aug. 27 weakened the hryvnia’s official exchange rate by nearly 25 kopecks to Hr 13.898974/$1 from the previous record low of Hr 13.659408/$1 set on Wednesday, Aug. 27.
Experts believe the national currency is weakening due to a complicated military-political situation and a reduced offer amid a contracting economy and depressed economic activity.
The Finance Ministry plans the hryvnia’s average exchange rate in 2014 to be about Hr 12/$1. National Bank of Ukraine Chair Valeriya Gontareva said the exchange rate of Hr 11.5-11.9/$1 is well balanced, and its further decline has been prompted by a panicky reaction to the events in the eastern part of the country.
