Ukraine’s international reserves reach record high of $41.7B

As of 1 August, Ukraine’s international reserves stood at $41.7 billion, reaching a record high since Ukraine gained its independence.

“As of 1 August 2023, Ukraine’s international reserves stood at USD 41,718.6 million, according to preliminary data. In July, the reserves increased by 6.9%, reaching a new record high for the second consecutive time since Ukraine gained its independence,” the press service of the National Bank of Ukraine reports.

Previously, maximum high reserves recorded on 1 July 2023 accounted for USD 39,026.5 billion.

As noted, in July, international reserves continued to increase thanks to sustained and regular inflows from international partners, which exceeded the NBU’s net FX sales and Ukraine’s FX debt repayments.

Overall, international reserve dynamics throughout last month were driven by a number of factors. The first factor is inflows to the government’s accounts and the servicing and repayment of public debt. A total of USD 4,681.3 million was received to the government's FX accounts with the NBU. The government of Ukraine spent a total of USD 394.6 million on servicing and repaying the FX public debt. In particular, USD 319.6 million was allocated to service and redeem FX domestic government debt securities, USD 66.8 million – to service the debt to the World Bank, the rest was spent on servicing debt to other international creditors.

The second factor is NBU transactions in the Ukrainian FX market. In July 2023, the NBU sold USD 1,873.4 million in the FX market and bought USD 12.9 million to replenish international reserves, according to balance sheet data. The NBU's net FX sales, therefore, amounted to USD 1,860.5 million last month.

The third factor is the revaluation of financial instruments (due to changes in their market value and exchange rate fluctuations). The value of financial instruments increased by USD 266.0 million in July due to revaluation.

As reported, according to the National Bank's estimates, international reserves will reach $44.1 billion by the end of 2025.