U.S. dollar remains key currency determining Ukrainian hryvnia's exchange rate - National Bank

MOSCOW. Jan 30 (Interfax) - The weakening of Ukraine's national currency, the hryvnia, at the end of December 2025 and in January 2026 was primarily due to situational seasonal factors, while the situation on the foreign exchange market remains manageable and stable, Ukrainian media quoted National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Deputy Governor Yury Geletiy as saying at a news briefing in Kiev.

"The U.S. dollar remains the currency determining the hryvnia's exchange rate. We conduct and will continue to conduct interventions in dollars," Geletiy said.

The factors that put pressure on the hryvnia's exchange rate included, in particular, significant budget expenditures at the end 2025, Geletiy said. For example, net expenditures from the single treasury account in December 2025 exceeded those in December 2024 by UAH 93 billion, and payments of so-called 13th salaries and bonuses also prompted additional demand for foreign currency, he said.

In addition, imports of power equipment, fuel, and electricity increased, while the disruption of logistics and weaker foreign currency supply by the agricultural sector due to adverse weather also had a negative impact, he said.

The year began with the official hryvnia to dollar exchange rate of UAH 42.3/$1, and it later reached UAH 43.41/$1, meaning a devaluation of more than 2%; however, as the market situation has improved and the NBU's supply increased in recent days, a revaluation has been observed, and the official rate is now UAH 42.77/$1, which means that the hryvnia has devalued less than 1% since the start of the year, he said.

Ukraine's international reserves grew from $43.8 billion at the beginning of 2025 to $57.3 billion at its end, while average daily net demand for foreign currency in cash decreased to approximately $35 million in January 2026 from $56 million in January 2025, Geletiy said.

Private individuals purchased $4.3 billion less cash foreign currency in 2025 than in 2024, and some funds were redirected into hryvnia-denominated instruments such as term deposits, current accounts, and government bonds, he said.

As reported, the NBU has weakened the official hryvnia exchange rate to the euro by nearly 2.9%, or UAH 1.45, to UAH 51.2423/1 euro since the start of 2026.