The balance of cash forex sales to banks in January returned to the surplus after two months of prevailing purchases, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported on Feb. 8.
According to the central bank, sales of cash in foreign currency to banks in January fell by 0.6 percent, to $912.9 million (in the equivalent). At the same time, the volume of purchases by banks declined by 26.9 percent, to $737.4 million (in the equivalent). As a result, net sales amounted to $175.5 million versus net purchases in December 2018 estimated at $90.5 million.
The NBU said that Ukrainians bought $563 million and sold $667 million last month.
Sales of foreign currency to banks compared to January 2018 increased by 9 percent, including sales of U.S. dollars by 7.8 percent. Meanwhile, currency purchases by banks from individuals increased by 27.1 percent, including purchases of U.S. dollars by 24.5 percent.
The balance of non-cash transactions in January was the following: bank customers sold $4.134 billion in currency and bought $4.182 billion in currency.
