Exchange rates in Ukraine will be set in a new way

According to the report, the discussion of draft amendments to the Regulation on setting the official hryvnia exchange rate to foreign currencies and calculating the reference value of the exchange rate to the US dollar and the accounting price of precious metals has been completed.

Calculation of exchange rates

It is proposed that the official hryvnia exchange rate against the US dollar will continue to be calculated based on the results of transactions in the interbank foreign exchange market. It will be published at 15:30 the next day. In addition, the NBU publishes the estimated hryvnia to dollar exchange rate as of 12:00.

The hryvnia exchange rate against other currencies is set based on the dollar exchange rate against these currencies on the international market. This is done on the basis of BFIX (Bloomberg Fixing) quotes. Currently, the value is taken at a specific moment, as of 3 p.m. Under the new methodology, the rates will be calculated using the average value for the period.

Reference value of the euro exchange rate

The NBU plans to introduce a reference value for the hryvnia to euro exchange rate as of 12:00.

The euro reference rate was developed at the request of market participants in cooperation with an international technical assistance expert. Its relevance is due to the growing importance of euro transactions in the Ukrainian foreign exchange market.

It is proposed to calculate it on a daily basis by multiplying the reference hryvnia/US dollar exchange rate as of 12:00 p.m. and the average value of the BFIX dollar/euro quotations calculated from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Daily exchange rates

In addition, the NBU plans to abandon the practice of setting exchange rates for some currencies on a monthly basis.

According to the NBU, the creation of two lists of currencies (daily and monthly) for calculating the official exchange rate many years ago was justified by the technical difficulties of calculating the official exchange rate to a wide range of currencies on a daily basis.

Currently, the level of automation of calculations has increased significantly, which has reduced operational constraints and risks of daily calculation of the official exchange rate for any list of currencies.

"In view of this, and taking into account international experience, it is proposed to form one daily basket of currencies for setting the official exchange rate. It will include foreign currencies of the first group of the Classifier of Foreign Currencies and Precious Metals and foreign currencies issued by countries that, according to the balance of payments of the previous year, accounted for at least 95% of trade with Ukraine," the statement said.

This list will be adjusted once every three years based on current statistics on trade turnover. At the same time, it will be possible to adjust the list more often if the trade turnover with Ukraine falls below 90% for the currencies included in the list.

Calculation of exchange rates

As a reminder, the official hryvnia to US dollar exchange rate is determined based on a series of transactions in the interbank foreign exchange market.

The official exchange rates for other currencies are determined by the NBU based on the official exchange rate against the dollar and cross-rates of the respective foreign currencies. The official exchange rates are published daily on the NBU website no later than 15:30 on the day of calculation and become effective on the next business day.

Currently, the NBU sets exchange rates daily for 33 currencies. For another 24 currencies, the NBU sets rates on a monthly basis.

Earlier, the NBU said that the currency structure of transactions in the foreign exchange market confirms the status of the US dollar as the main exchange rate currency. At the same time, the share of transactions in euros in the total volume of transactions between banks and clients tends to grow. In particular, the share of transactions in euros remains above 40% in non-cash foreign currency purchase transactions by clients.