BoP current account surplus persists for second month

The National Bank of Ukraine released preliminary data that showed the current account surplus equaled USD 87 mln in October vs. USD 62 mln in September, thanks to narrowing negative gap in the trade balance. The capital account deficit narrowed from USD 1.4 bln in September to USD 0.8 bln in October on the back of smaller external debt repayments by the government and non-banking sectors. Excessive demand for foreign currency on the domestic retail market continued to contribute significantly to the BoP capital account deficit (USD 644 mln in October).