By KYIV. Dec 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The situation on the foreign exchange market at present, unlike the summer months, is much better, this can be seen from the ratio of supply and demand, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Yuriy Heletiy said.
"An important indicator is the volume of interventions: in October – $2 billion, in November – $1.6 billion, while in June it was $4 billion," he said at a briefing on Thursday.
According to him, exports are growing, which, together with the expectation of international assistance, makes it possible to count on an increase in foreign exchange earnings.
The banker recalled that the international reserves of the NBU at the beginning of December exceeded the pre-war level and amounted to about $28 billion, which provides 3.5 months of future imports.
He also said that there is an increase in the average daily volume of transactions between banks, but they still remain "objectively small" – $65 million in November against $38 million in September.
According to him, the ability of the foreign exchange market to self-balance is one of the conditions for a return to a floating rate, however, unfortunately, this is not on the market now, and the National Bank is entering it with interventions.
Heletiy added that the second important precondition for a return to a floating rate is the ability of inflation to be a nominal anchor, but now its level does not make it possible to anchor expectations, this function is performed by a fixed hryvnia exchange rate.
He stressed that under such conditions, the National Bank cannot name specific dates when a return to a floating rate can be made.
"Therefore, we are now living in this environment. Our system is working effectively. For our part, we are monitoring the situation, adapting our currency issues in the context of regulation and adapting to current conditions," he stated.
In turn, National Bank Governor Andriy Pyshny noted that with each subsequent missile attack, Ukrainians only add stability to the national currency – its rate is strengthening.
He pointed to the recent convergence of the official hryvnia exchange rate and the cash market exchange rate.
