There are no economic grounds for the weakening of the hryvnia, although pressure on the cash market has been noted, the director of the chief economic department at the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), Ihor Shhumylo, has said.
"There are no economic grounds for the weakening of the national currency, especially for a large devaluation," he said in Kyiv at a conference organized by Fitch Ratings on Friday.
Shumylo said that the pressure on the cash currency market was formed not only by individuals, but also by representatives of shadow businesses.
"Apart from in recent weeks, it was not the public who stirred up the situation [on the currency market]," he said.
He also said that although the exchange rate is suffering from the devaluation pressure, there would be only small fluctuations of the hryvnia around the present indicators.
"If we take a look at the real effective exchange rate in Ukraine, now we have actually returned to the start of the year," he said.
In addition, he said that more currency was coming to Ukraine in 2011 than leaving the market.
Shumylo also said that the NBU is working on the issue of introducing additional currency risk hedging instruments with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
