Record demand: Ukrainian banks import USD 1 billion worth of cash currency in a month
Illustrative photo (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
In October 2023, Ukrainian banks imported $1.056 billion in foreign cash, marking the highest volume since February 2022, according to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
Central bank statistics reveal a $779 million increase in dollar imports and a rise to $267 million in euro imports. During the same period, Ukraine exported $76 million in currency, consistent with previous months.
The demand for currency surged at the beginning of 2023, with banks bringing in a record amount of cash since the start of the war. In March, however, the dollar exchange rate sharply declined from 40 to 38 hryvnias per dollar. In June and July, the rate further dropped to 37.2 hryvnias per dollar. Nevertheless, by late August, the dollar exchange rate saw a sudden upswing, reaching 38.6 hryvnias per dollar.
Following the National Bank of Ukraine's introduction of a flexible exchange rate regime, the cash market rate decreased to 37.70 hryvnias per dollar.
According to NBU data, in October 2023, Ukrainians purchased $739.4 million from banks, marking the highest volume of currency acquisition in almost a decade. The only time a higher amount was recorded was in February 2014.
Overall, Ukrainians bought a total of $3.145 billion in currency since the beginning of 2023.
