The NBU lowers the official exchange rate of the hryvnia by 25%, to 36.56 per dollar

What happened? The National Bank (NBU) has changed the official exchange rate of the hryvnia by 25% to UAH 36.5686 per dollar for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

Source. The press service of the National Bank.

Details. It is noted that the official exchange rate of the hryvnia against the US dollar will continue to be fixed. The head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Kyrylo Shevchenko, says that this will enable the National Bank to maintain control over the dynamics of inflation, as well as support the smooth operation of the financial system.

The National Bank explains that in the conditions of war, the official exchange rate of the hryvnia at the level that was valid on February 24 no longer corresponds to reality and is gradually losing its role as an anchor for expectations.

The sale and purchase of currency by banks in the non-cash segment will continue to be carried out at an exchange rate that cannot deviate by more than 1% from the official one.

Starting from July 21, the NBU will allow banks to sell non-cash currency to citizens with subsequent placement on deposit for a period of three months or more without the right of early termination within the monthly limit of UAH 50,000.

Citizens that are currently abroad will still be able to withdraw UAH 50,000 per month from hryvnia cards. At the same time, the limit for cash withdrawals abroad has been changed from monthly to weekly: UAH 12,500 per seven days.

Moreover, the monthly limit on P2P transfers of citizens from Ukrainian hryvnia payment cards to foreign countries has been reduced from UAH 100,000 to UAH 30,000;

The NBU has set a monthly limit of UAH 100,000 for payments abroad from all client bank accounts opened in the national currency.

Also, since July 25, the permission for commercial banks to buy cash hryvnias in foreign financial institutions for non-cash foreign currency has been canceled.

The algorithm for calculating the limits of open currency positions by banks has also been changed in terms of not taking into account the increase in reserves of banks' currency assets. Such a step will prevent the possibility of artificial overestimation of reserves by banks on foreign currency assets in order to increase the volume of foreign currency purchases. The new norm will come into force on August 1.