The hryvnia has set an anti-record: the official dollar exchange rate has exceeded 44 hryvnias for the first time in history

The hryvnia has set an anti-record: the official dollar exchange rate has exceeded 44 hryvnias for the first time in history

The foreign exchange market is reaching new heights. Today, March 12, the official hryvnia to dollar rate exceeded the psychological mark of 44 UAH/$ for the first time in history. The National Bank set a new official rate at 44.1636 UAH/$ instead of the previous 43.9776 UAH/$ — this is a record high.

On the interbank market, deals below 44 UAH/$ are no longer recorded, trading is steadily holding at elevated levels. The minimum price on the interbank was 44.05 UAH/$, the maximum — 44.3250 UAH/$.

Against the backdrop of devaluation, demand for currency has significantly increased. The trading volume on the key interbank platform Bloomberg grew from $241.2 million to $297.6 million.

«The National Bank accelerated this train, that is, the market, to more profitably convert international aid due to the huge state budget deficit. And now it’s trying to slow it down a bit, if not stop it. But so far, it’s not working very well», — noted the treasury director of a large bank in a comment to «Strana».

Under these conditions, the maximum cash dollar price in cash desks rose by 30 kopecks to 44.90 UAH/$ (MetaBank), meaning just 10 kopecks remain to 45 UAH/$. Average buy/sell rates were 43.88–44.52 UAH/$. Average card rates were in the range of 43.98–44.45 UAH/$, with the peak at 44.80 UAH/$.

The National Bank raised the official hryvnia to euro rate from 50.9349 UAH/€ to 50.9560 UAH/€.

The maximum cash euro selling price in banks soared to 51.85 UAH/€, average buy-sell rates held within 50.86–51.59 UAH/€. Card rates averaged 50.77–51.52 UAH/€, with the maximum reaching 51.85 UAH/€ (OTP Bank).