Hryvnia erases previous gains

Макроэкономика 21.04.2015 The hryvnia gave back some gains seen over the past few days as the currency declined 9.07% to close at 22.85/USD. This occurred because of liquidity driven by currency sentiment. Bank liquidity, highly concentrated in a few out of nearly one hundred banks, recovered over the past week following a temporary retreat of negative sentiment toward the hryvnia. Although market sentiment has remained negative toward the hryvnia, its value has been influenced by the 12.1% YTD appreciation of the Russian ruble. However, the ruble has come under downward pressure over the past several days because of authorities' concerns that it appreciated too quickly, causing a shortage of FX funding from the central bank to commercial banks. This would have a negative spillover effect on sentiment toward the hryvnia as well.