Ukraine Central Bank Says Demand For Currency Falls In October

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukrainians’ average daily demand for foreign currency declined 34.6 percent on the interbank market in October compared with the previous month, the central bank said.

Cash demand for foreign currency fell 29.5 percent, the Kiev-based central bank said in a statement on its website today.

The Natsionalnyi Bank Ukrainy controls the hryvnia’s exchange rate by buying and selling dollars on the interbank market. Ukraine’s international currency reserves declined in October to $34.16 billion from $34.95 billion a month earlier and $38.2 billion in August, according to the central bank.

The central bank spent $1.5 billion of its reserves in October, 24.9 percent less than a month earlier, according to today’s statement.