You're reading: National Bank spends $894 million to support hryvnia in January

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in January 2012 sold $893.6 million (in the dollar equivalent) more than it bought on the interbank forex market, according to a posting on the Web site of the National Bank of Ukraine.

In January 2012, the central bank bought only $10.8 million, while in December 2011 the NBU bought $625.8 million.

The NBU sold $904.4 million, which is twice up on December 2011, reads the posting.

According to the NBU, it bought only euros, while it sold U.S. dollars.

The total NBU interventions (sale and purchase) in January 2012 fell by 28.6% compared to the previous month, to Hr 26.708 billion (taking into account transactions of the State Treasury Service).

In January 2012, the official exchange rate of hryvnia to the U.S. dollar grew by 0.001%, to Hr 7.9897 per U.S. dollar, against the Russian ruble it decreased by 5.45%, to Hr 2.6312 per RUR 10, and against the euro it decreased by 1.71%, to Hr 10.474497 per EUR 1.

The central bank also said that the real effective exchange rate of the hryvnia in 2011 grew by 3.7%, while the nominal effective exchange rate grew by 7.8% thanks to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar on the international markets against the euro in the second half of the year.

The real effective exchange rate is one of the indicators of the country’s competitiveness in foreign trade and is calculated taking into account inflation and the exchange rate of the countries that are key trade partners of Ukraine.