Ukraine's draft national budget for 2016 is based on the forecast for the average annual hryvnia exchange rate of UAH 24.1 per $1, with the rate at the end of the year being UAH 24.4 per $1, Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko has told reporters in Kyiv.

These guidelines correspond to the updated Extended Fund Facility program (EFF) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was announced in August this year.

According to the program, the hryvnia to U.S. dollar exchange rate by the end of 2015 is expected to reach UAH 23.5 per $1, by the end of 2016 – UAH 24.4/$1, and by the end of 2017 - UAH 24.9/$1.

The initial scenario during the approval of the EFF program in March this year suggested that the hryvnia to U.S. dollar exchange rate by the end of this year will amount to UAH 22/$1, next year UAH 22.7/$1, and by the end of 2017 it will fall to UAH 23.4/$1.

As reported, the 2015 national budget is built on the forecast for the hryvnia exchange rate being UAH 21.7 per $1.