Ukraine’s currency reserves fall 23 pct to $12.6 bln in October

(Reuters) — Ukraine’s foreign currency reserves plummeted by almost a quarter month-on-month in October to $12.6 billion, the central bank said on Friday, citing payments for energy supplies and gas debts and efforts to support the faltering hryvnia currency.
The central bank has had to dip into its already heavily depleted reserves to help state energy firm Naftogaz service its multi-billion dollar debt to Russia and coffers are now at their lowest level since 2005.
«The dynamics (of the fall) were influenced by the need to support Naftogaz (with) almost $2 billion … and also by making payments for natural gas supplies from European suppliers,» the bank said in a statement.
On Monday the bank said it had sold $1.3 billion in the past month and a half to defend the hryvnia, which has lost around 40 percent of its value against the dollar since the start of 2014 because of political upheaval, ongoing tension with Russia and a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The continuing weakness of the hryvnia and looming gas payments mean the bank will have to dig even deeper into reserves and soon, Standard Bank analyst Tim Ash said in a note.
«Ukraine still has $1.6 billion in gas debts to pay by year end, and $700 million a month to pay for any gas deliveries … foreign currency reserve levels might well drop into single digits by year end, which is very, very low,» he said.

Читать далее: IPnews

---

---