Why gold and foreign exchange reserves are melting: Ukrainians urged not to panic
фото: REUTERS
The reduction in Ukraine’s gold and foreign exchange reserves to $45.7 billion turned out to be a temporary phenomenon caused by delays in the receipt of international financial assistance.
This was announced on the air of “Pryamoy” by the executive director of the Economic Discussion Club, Oleg Pendzin.
He called for not giving in to criticism of the National Bank’s actions to support the foreign exchange market.
“Foreign exchange interventions of the National Bank of Ukraine are currently the only way for foreign exchange to enter the Ukrainian economy. Today, the only organization that sells foreign exchange for purchases and further imports is the National Bank of Ukraine,” Pendzin noted.
According to him, today there is a significant deficit in foreign financial receipts, because previously declared tranches from international partners have not yet arrived at the state treasury accounts.
As soon as these significant foreign exchange resources from the first agreed large aid packages physically arrive in the country, the expert adds, the total reserves will quickly recover to previous safe levels. The regulator continues to effectively monitor the situation in the market, – emphasized Oleg Pendzin.
As a reminder, the National Bank of Ukraine has published official statistics on the state of the country’s gold and foreign exchange reserves for the past month. According to the regulator’s balance sheet data published on Friday, June 5, 2026, Ukraine’s international reserves decreased by almost $2.5 billion (or 5.2%) in May. As of June 1, their total volume was recorded at just over $45.7 billion.
Meanwhile, Ukraine risks missing out on around €680 million from the European Union due to two unfulfilled reforms in the fight against corruption. According to sources in the European Commission, these are obligations included in the fourth and fifth tranches of financial assistance. Until these conditions are met, the relevant funds remain suspended.
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