With the stopgap measures to stabilize the foreign exchange market put in place, the hryvnia exchange rate has been on an appreciating path over the month. As of March 13, 2015, the official UAH/USD exchange rate stood at UAH 21.61 per USD 1 versus UAH 27.76 per USD 1 in early March.

According to Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, since the beginning of March the National Bank of Ukraine has purchased foreign exchange worth USD 579 million in its foreign exchange interventions to replenish the international reserves. "Now we have resources to shore up the market. Going forward, these funds can be used to carry out foreign exchange interventions, should the market experience an upsurge in volatility or should panicky sentiment grip the market. If the positive trend persists, administrative restrictions will be phased out," emphasized Valeriia Gontareva. 

On the positive side, the public tends to sell more cash foreign exchange to banks than purchase it from them. The net sale of foreign exchange by the population stood at USD 70 million.

The agreement reached with the IMF over the EFF loan program has contributed to stabilizing the situation. Under the IMF's EFF, on March 13, 2015, the National Bank of Ukraine received the first tranche of about USD 5 billion. The funds were channeled into the foreign exchange reserves. As a side note, the EFF-supported program is aimed at achieving financial stability and will see the international reserves increase to reach USD 17 billion by the end of 2015.