Ukraine monetary base declines 1.3% in February
13 March 2019
Ukraine’s monetary base declined 1.3% m/m (UAH 5.7
bln) to UAH 423 bln in February after a 1.6% m/m drop in the prior month, the
National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) stated in a provisional report on March 12. The
monetary base has fallen 2.9% YTD. Money supply slid 0.2% m/m to UAH 1,256 bln.
Money supply has dropped 1.7% YTD.
Evgeniya Akhtyrko: The main
factor in the contracting monetary base was a repayment of interest in foreign
currency of around USD 94 mln, which also contributed to February’s drop in
gross foreign reserves (by 2.9% m/m, or USD 0.6 bln). In addition, the NBU
spent less on refinancing commercial banks. In particular, net financing in
February amounted to UAH 3.8 bln vs. UAH 7.0 bln in January.
We expect the monetary base to increase 5-6% YTD in
2019 (vs. 9.2% YTD growth in 2018).
