This requirement has been in effect for a year already but covered 50% of exports income in foreign currency. Now, exporters are required to sell all foreign currency received as income in international transactions, as well as other proceeds, such as investment or payments under international loans, Kommersant, a business publication, reports.
The NBU believes that this will help Ukraine resist the risks related to debt problems in the euro area and the U.S. budget crisis.
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According to Kommersant, the NBU’s search for new tools to fill the market with foreign currency results from Ukraine’s depleting international reserves. The repayment of foreign debt as well as the growing demand for foreign currency from the business since the beginning of this year knocked the NBU’s international reserves down by USD 2.9bn to USD 21.64bn in early September. As a result, Ukraine’s import cover ratio fell to 2.6 months.
Meanwhile, the demand for foreign currencies from the population rose sharply in September, too: Ukrainians bought USD 679mn more of foreign currencies from banks (USD 1.412bn) than they sold to them (USD 2.091bn).
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