Ukraine's balance of payments runs USD 2.1 bln deficit in February

Ukraine’s balance of payments reached a deficit of USD 2.1 bln in February, the National Bank of Ukraine said yesterday. The current account had a surplus of USD 0.1 bln, down from USD 0.5 bln in January. Exports were USD 3.8 bln (down 35.5% yoy), whereas imports were USD 3.7 bln (down 51.3% yoy). The capital account had a shortfall of USD -2.2 bln, mainly due to currency flowing out of the banking system into cash. For 2M09, the balance of payments deficit amounted to USD 3.9 bln. Andrii Parkhomenko: We retain our 2009 forecast of a current account deficit at USD 1.3 bln, and capital account at USD 7.0 bln (accounting for USD 9.6 bln that we expect Ukraine to receive from the IMF).