Preliminary data suggests that Ukraine's international reserves amounted to the equivalent of USD 17,748.5 million as of 1 August 2018.
In July, the international reserves decreased by 1.3% primarily due to the repayment of public debt denominated in foreign currency. Some USD 321.5 million was used for the repayment and servicing of public and publicly guaranteed debt denominated in foreign currency (except for payments to the IMF). In particular, USD 231.6 million was used for the repayment and servicing of domestic government bonds denominated in foreign currency.
The NBU’s interventions in the interbank FX market also affected the volume of reserves. As in June, due to the demand for foreign currency exceeding the supply of it in July, the NBU continued the sales of foreign currency on the interbank market to smooth out excessive exchange rate fluctuations. The NBU's net FX sales in the interbank market amounted to USD 64.4 million last month.
In the first half of July, the NBU bought USD 99.0 million through interventions with the selection of the best price. In the second half of the month, the regulator intensified FX sales to prevent excessive exchange rate volatility: USD 163.3 million was sold at the end of the month, including USD 135.2 million through interventions with the selection of the best price and USD 28.1 million through the auction.
In July, the main source of reserves replenishment remained the proceeds raised by the government from the placement of foreign currency domestic sovereign bonds worth USD 130.9 million and EUR 60.5 million.
Furthermore, the reserves were affected by the revaluation of financial instruments (changes in the market value and exchange rates of the US dollar against other currencies and bank metals), which amounted to USD 45.9 million.
Overall, as of 1 August 2018, the international reserves covered 3.0 months of future imports and were sufficient for Ukraine to meet its obligations and for the government and NBU to conduct their current transactions.
That includes preliminary data, compiled and distributed no later than the seventh day following the reporting month, and revised data, compiled and distributed no later than the twenty-first day following the reporting month.