12:27 03.06.2015

Ukraine's forex reserves grow by 3% in May – NBU

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Ukraine's forex reserves grow by 3% in May – NBU

Ukraine's forex reserves grew by 3%, or $287 million, in May 2015, to $9.918 billion, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported in a press release on Wednesday.

The positive balance of NBU interventions was estimated at $69 million last month.

The reserves were partly replenished with $1 billion from the placement by the Ukrainian government of U.S.-backed bonds amid simultaneous repayments worth $758 million on state guaranteed debt in May, the NBU said.

The central bank notes an improvement in the situation in the forex market last month, when the average daily amount of mandatory sales grew to $132 million in May from $119 million in April with an increase in the average daily amount of free sales to $40-60 million. The amount of demand stabilized within $140 million and $160 million.

Net sales of cash foreign currency by households in May totaled $177 million, and have amounted to $619 million since the beginning of 2015. The NBU said that net purchases of cash foreign currency by households were $39 billion in 2010-2014.

According to the central bank, the amount of forex sales by the NBU under targeted projects in May was $100 million, but the improvement in the situation on the forex market allows the government to gradually transfer NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy to the purchase of foreign currency at market rates.

As reported, Ukraine's forex reserves in April 2015 shrank by $339 million, or 3.4%. In the first four months of 2015, they expanded by 31.7, or $2.385 billion.

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