19 September 2011
Short-term external debt reached USD 53.3 bln (37.4% of GDP, 4Q-rolling) as of July 1, up 3.7% q-o-q and 7.2% YTD, according to data released by the National Bank of Ukraine on Friday. Gross external debt rose by 2.2% q-o-q and 5.2% YTD to USD 123.4 bln (86.7% of GDP, 4Q-rolling). Svetlana Rekrut: The most actively borrowers in 1H11 were the government and NBU, increasing their external debt by 3.8% q-o-q and 8% YTD. Short-term government and NBU debt increased by 19% q-o-q and 14% YTD due to maturing IMF payments within next 12 months. Real sector debt was up by 3.6% q-o-q and 6.9% YTD, while short-term external obligations rose by 3.5% q-o-q and 8.5% YTD to USD 31.9 bln (22.4% of GDP, 4Q-rolling). As of July 1, Ukrainian banks reduced their external borrowings by 3.5% q-o-q and 2.1% YTD while short- term debt increased by 1% q-o-q and declined by 3.7% YTD. We expect gross external debt to amount to USD 127 bln (~80% of GDP) at end-2011.