In July, Ukrainians bought a record amount of foreign currency over the past 11 years
6 August 2024 11:32
In July, Ukrainians bought $2.775bn worth of cash and non-cash foreign currency, the highest in 11 years. This was reported by Nina Yuzhanina, a member of the Finance Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Yuzhanina noted that Ukrainians are more actively buying up foreign currency. The excess of foreign currency purchases by individuals over their sales has been observed since August 2023 and tends to increase.
“In July 2024, the sale of foreign currency by individuals amounted to $1.658 billion in equivalent, while the purchase amounted to $2.775 billion. That is, net purchases of foreign currency by individuals amounted to $1.117 billion. This is the highest figure for the last 11 years,” the MP said.
According to her, a significant excess of foreign currency purchases by individuals over their sales was observed in October 2012 (when net purchases amounted to $2.169 billion), and in December 2013-February 2014 (in December 2013 – $940 million).
“This is the explanation for the increase in hryvnia cash withdrawals from banks’ cash desks. Despite the National Bank’s statements about confidence in the hryvnia, the majority of people prefer to keep their savings in foreign currency in difficult times,” Yuzhanina concluded.
Meanwhile, inflation in Ukraine is accelerating: NBU forecasts 8.5% by the end of the year.
