Hryvnia slides versus the weak dollar

Макроэкономика 27.04.2015 The hryvnia closed at 22.9500/USD, down 2.00% from the previous close, on US$185.37m in trading volume. The ratio of daily FX volume to the average daily foreign trade turnover in goods (exports plus imports) was 61% last Friday, in line with the trailing 12-month tendency of this ratio to trade at a below-normal level of slightly above 100% (Chart 12). Hence, this ratio could exhibit evidence that some part of the economy has shifted away from the official regulatory regime. Friday's slide of the hryvnia reflects the Russian ruble's weakness, albeit a relatively small decline of 0.12%. There have been several statements by second tier officials in Russia that the ruble's appreciation was over-extended and that they welcome some retreat from its current highs. In the global FX market place, US statistical data brought further evidence that the US economy is losing growth momentum, in particular as US durable goods orders contracted further following declines in the orders seen over the prior several months. This propelled the euro to increase 0.45% to close the day at 1.0873. The US dollar index, a nominal trade-weighted index that tracks a basket of key developed nations' currencies, fell 0.37%, extending the general tendency of this index over the past few weeks to trade sideways. The UAH's trade-weighted index declined 1.97% as a result of the hryvnia's nominal weakness to the US dollar's weakness, mostly versus the euro.