The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) from May 18 to May 22 bought around $160 million on the interbank currency market, driven by the improvement of the situation with foreign trade, Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko said during a business forum held in Kyiv on Monday.
"The balance of payments and the balance of trade are not problems today," he said.
The head of state said that the situation with Ukraine's balance of payments is improving, and that is why Ukrainians see a strengthening of the hryvnia.
"We have a surplus of around $800 million in trade with goods and services," he said.
Yuschenko noted that in 2008, Ukraine saw a $14 billion deficit in the balance of foreign trade due to the incorrect trade policy of the authorities.
The president said that Ukraine's gold and foreign currency reserves, including financing from the IMF, would amount to about $26 billion at the end of 2009.
Yuschenko also said that an inflow of deposits to the banking system is being seen. He said that the positive trends on the financial market would expand. He also said that the national budget for 2009 presents a certain problem.
"Budget policy should be stronger," he said.
