The NBU sold a record amount of foreign currency this year to support the value of the hryvnia.

The demand for currency surged in mid-February 2025. The National Bank increased its sales from reserves to cover the structural currency deficit to the highest level since the beginning of the year.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing data from the NBU.

During the week of February 17-21, 2025, the NBU sold 1.191 billion dollars on the interbank currency market.

This marks a 77.8% increase compared to the previous week of February 10-14, when sales amounted to 670.10 million dollars.

Since the beginning of the year, the NBU has sold a total of 6.066 billion dollars on the interbank market, which is nearly twice the budgetary assistance provided to Ukraine by international partners (3.1 billion dollars).

Dollar Exchange Rate

The cash market is balanced by the currency sales of the National Bank. The NBU responds to market conditions by adjusting the intervention rate. At the end of trading, the central bank sets the official exchange rate.

Last week, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) lowered the dollar exchange rate against the hryvnia by 3 kopecks—from 41.62 to 41.59. The rate reached 41.73 UAH/dollar during the week but fell by the end. This rate is lower than the peak at the beginning of January, which was 42.28 UAH/dollar.

The situation in the cash market is almost entirely dependent on the interbank market. Over the week, the dollar exchange rate in the cash market fell by 10 kopecks to 41.85 UAH/dollar. This rate is significantly lower than at the beginning of January when it exceeded 43 hryvnias.

NBU's Comment

According to NBU Deputy Head Yuriy Geletiy, demand for currency was high at the end of last year due to a large volume of international aid to Ukraine. A portion of this funding was spent on imports, prompting the NBU to increase its sales volume on the interbank market to a record 5.3 billion dollars.

Demand for currency remained substantial at the beginning of 2025 due to seasonal factors. However, the situation changed in the second half of January, leading to a depreciation of the dollar.

Vladimir Lepushinsky, Director of the NBU's Monetary Policy and Economic Analysis Department, stated that at the end of January, demand for currency decreased, resulting in the hryvnia strengthening and a reduction in the NBU's net currency sales. "The NBU has sufficient tools to maintain a stable situation in the currency market going forward," he added.