Companies@UA: База компаний Украины

Kyiv, July 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The hryvnia will continue weakening under the pressure of payments of foreign loans, payments for imported gas and the devaluation expectations of the public, but the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) could impact the pace of the fall in the exchange rate, according to bankers polled by Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

"The market expected a hryvnia devaluation, but not such a swift one. I think that the weakening of the exchange rate will stop at UAH 8.3/$1, but in the future I don't rule out a further weakening to UAH 9/$1. The devaluation is linked with large payments on foreign loans. The public tries to convert hryvnias into foreign currency with any signs of instability strengthening the trend," deputy board chairman of Kyiv-based BM Bank, Taras Kyiak said.

The specialists said that high demand for currency is formed by the public, which buys it expecting a new wave of devaluation in the fall and by companies trying to restructure foreign currency credits into those denominated in hryvnias.

"The devaluation trend is linked with fundamental factors and the growing misbalance between demand for foreign currency and its supply on the market... Seeing the size of demand and the misbalance, it's obvious that the NBU has realized the lack of prospects for actively opposing the trend and has restricted its presence on the market and banks' access to currency interventions: this pushed the exchange rate upwards," said the director of the treasury at one of the larger banks in Ukraine.

"The reasons for the hryvnia devaluation is the purchase of dollars by National JSC Naftogaz Ukrainy for pumping gas to storage facilities and the devaluation expectations of the public," said a member of the board of Kyiv-based Prominvestbank, Vladyslav Kravets,.

He said that the development of the situation would hinge on the NBU's position.