The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) will release today, September 14, its decision regarding the extension or cancellation of administrative restrictions on the foreign exchange market, introduced in 2014-2015 to stabilize the national currency.
The NBU press service said the regulator has not yet made the decision regarding Resolution No. 342 ”On settlement of the situation on the monetary and foreign exchange markets,” which has been in force up to the present date, inclusive.
The resolution, in particular, set the limit on withdrawal of currency cash through ATMs and at banks` cash desks in the equivalent of UAH 100,000 per one client per day, the limit on purchases of foreign currency by individuals in the equivalent of UAH 12,000 per day, as well as the mandatory sale of 65% of foreign currency earnings and a 120-day period of settlements under foreign trade contracts.
Previously, experts interviewed by UNIAN expressed views that the regulator would maintain the basic administrative restrictions for another three months, given recent turbulences on the foreign exchange market in August-early September.
The NBU has stated that the abolition of restrictions will take place gradually, with a view of maintaining the financial stability. The regulator primarily intends to ease restrictions that hamper the receipt of foreign investment and the performance of foreign economic settlements. According to the NBU, it will make decisions based on certain market conditions and they are not bound by specific dates.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the National Bank of Ukraine announced the easing of administrative restrictions on the foreign exchange market this year.
Since August 10, the hryvnia exchange rate against the dollar has been gradually decreasing by 5-10 kopecks daily, exceeding 25 UAH/USD, as compared to a level of 24.7-24.9 UAH/USD during the previous two months. The situation improved after the announcement of the International Monetary Fund, Ukraine`s key creditor, that the Fund would consider Ukraine issue during a meeting of the IMF Executive Directors on September 14. The Ukrainian national currency has strengthened.
The regulator said the situation on the currency market in Ukraine has stabilized. In particular, the NBU reported the excess of foreign currency supply over demand on the interbank foreign exchange market on September 13, and for the first time since August 9 it bought US$ 19.7 million worth of currency, after holding seven currency auctions in August-September to sell currency to support the hryvnia. It is reported that during the auctions the regulator has sold US$200 million worth of foreign currency.
