Ukraine's international reserves increased by 8% over the year, according to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).

As of January 1, 2025, Ukraine's international reserves amounted to $43,787.6 million, according to preliminary data. In December 2024, they increased by 9.7% compared to November, driven by foreign currency inflows from international partners that surpassed the net currency sales by the National Bank and the country's foreign currency debt payments.

This is mentioned on the regulator’s website.

It is noted that several factors influenced the dynamics of reserves in December 2024.

First and foremost were the inflows for the government and payments for servicing and repaying public debt. A total of $9,461.1 million was received into the government’s foreign currency accounts at the National Bank. Of this amount:

• $4,411.1 million – macro-financial assistance from the EU;
• $3,935.3 million – from the World Bank, including through the DPL mechanism from the USA, Japan, and the UK;
• $1,088.8 million – from the IMF;
• $25.9 million – from other creditors.

According to the NBU, the government paid $132.6 million for servicing and repaying public debt in foreign currency, including:

• $75.2 million – debt to the World Bank;
• $4.5 million – debt to the EBRD;
• $52.9 million – debt to other international creditors.

In addition, Ukraine paid $252.0 million to the International Monetary Fund.

The second factor is the National Bank's operations in Ukraine's foreign exchange market.

"The National Bank, according to balance sheet data, sold $5,308.9 million on the foreign exchange market and repurchased $0.4 million into reserves. Thus, the NBU's net currency sales in December amounted to $5,308.5 million, nearly doubling compared to November," the report states.

It is noted that the increase in the NBU's currency sales interventions last month was primarily related to the traditional seasonal factor – the activation of budget expenditures and business operations at year-end.

Moreover, this was influenced by the revaluation of financial instruments (due to changes in market value and exchange rates). According to the regulator, the value of financial instruments increased by $92.4 million in December due to revaluation.

"Overall, during 2024, Ukraine's international reserves increased by 8%," the NBU emphasized.

According to the report, last year Ukraine received substantial global financial support – approximately $42 billion, based on balance sheet data. The largest financial assistance came from the European Union – $17.5 billion, the United States – $6.8 billion, the World Bank – $6.1 billion, the IMF – $5.3 billion, Japan – $4.3 billion, and Canada – $1.8 billion.

Furthermore, in 2024, the country raised over $3.5 billion through the issuance of foreign currency government bonds. This, along with international assistance, enabled:

• to cover the country’s payments for servicing and repaying public debt in foreign currency ($6.7 billion) and payments to the International Monetary Fund ($3.4 billion);
• to offset the NBU’s net interventions in currency sales ($34.8 billion), which were conducted to address the structural deficit in the foreign exchange market and to smooth excessive exchange rate fluctuations under a managed flexibility exchange rate regime;
• to increase international reserves to a level sufficient to continue supporting exchange rate stability.

The National Bank also reported that the current volume of international reserves ensures financing for 5.5 months of future imports.

"In 2025, Ukraine expects to receive about $38 billion from international partners. Therefore, the NBU's ability to maintain a sufficient level of international reserves and ensure the stability of the currency market will remain high," noted NBU Governor Andriy Pyshny.

Background. Earlier, Mind reported that in November Ukraine's international reserves increased by 9.1%. As of December 1, 2024, they amounted to $39.9 million.