On Thursday, the National Bank of Ukraine weakened the official exchange rate of the hryvnia by 0.96%, or 36 kopecks, to a new minimum of 37.98 UAH/USD on the penultimate trading day.
According to NBU rules, this rate will be effective in the last days of the year, from December 29 to 31.
The reference value of the exchange rate set by the NBU at 12:00 on Thursday also decreased by 1%, or 39 kopecks, to 37.9404 UAH/USD.
Market participants reported active trading from the early morning on Thursday. In the first one and a half hours, the trading volume was approximately $150 million, and deals were concluded before noon at a rate of 37.97-37.99 UAH/USD with offers at a rate of 38.03 UAH/USD.
According to calculations by former head of the analytical department at SENSE Bank, Oleksiy Blinov, the average official exchange rate for the year 2023 was 36.57 UAH/USD, which is practically identical to the fixed rate that was in effect for 14 months until October 3 of this year.
The expert specified that the official year-end exchange rate for the euro is 42.21 UAH/EUR1.
On the cash market on Thursday, the dollar exchange rate increased even more, by approximately 45 kopecks, to 38.72 UAH/USD.
The recent weakening of the hryvnia is associated by the NBU with the seasonal increase in demand for foreign currency.