Ukraine`s gold, forex reserves expand to $14 bln

Thursday, July 7, 2016 - 11:40 (EEST) Section: Latest news

Ukraine`s gold and forex reserves as of July 1, 2016, amounted to the equivalent of $13.988 billion, which is by 3.3%, or $452 million, more than the figure on June 1, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported on its website.
The stock of international reserves continues increasing for a third consecutive month, the NBU noted.
In annual terms, international reserves rose by 36.3% year-over-year.
”June`s increase in international reserves was primarily due to FX purchases by the NBU to smooth excessive exchange rate fluctuations in the interbank FX market and to replenish the reserves,” the statement reads.
In June, the NBU`s net FX purchases amounted to $429.6 million. In June, the National Bank of Ukraine held no FX sales auctions, according to the report.
In addition, $70.0 million raised by the government, including $50 million in proceeds from the placement of sovereign bonds denominated in foreign currency, also contributed to the increase in international reserves, according to the NBU.
Ukraine`s international reserves expanded despite the need for the government to repay and service public and publicly guaranteed debt denominated in foreign currency. The government of Ukraine paid back $171.2  million, including $164.2 million in interest payments on external sovereign bonds, the NBU reported.  
Currently, the amount of Ukraine`s international reserves is sufficient to cover 3.6 months of future imports and enable the government and the NBU to settle their foreign debt obligations and current operations.   
As was reported earlier, Ukraine`s gold and forex reserves as of June 1, 2016 amounted to $13.536 billion, which was 2.2%, or $295 million, up on the figure on May 1.
According to the NBU forecasts, the volume of international reserves of Ukraine will amount to $18.7 billion by the end of the year, while the key factor of their growth is the resumption of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund.
In 2015, Ukraine`s forex reserves increased by 77%, or $5.767 billion, to $13.3 billion.