Ukraine’s Gold and Currency Reserves Now Largest Ever, Says Central Bank

Ukraine’s National bank says it now holds nearly $39 billion in foreign reserves, the highest level in the history of the country as an independent nation, as it continues to receive large deliveries of cash from allied nations.

There was a $38.99 billion reserve held by Ukraine as of July first, the National Bank of Ukraine said in their latest figures, up from $37.3 billion in June. The size of the reserve is the largest since the fall of the Soviet Union, and beats the previous 2011 record of $38 billion.

Per the National Bank, this reserve was achieved “thanks to sustained and regular inflows from international partners”, the receipts of which exceeded the central bank’s outgoings of paying down foreign-held debt, and selling currency reserves to balance the economy. The bank cited some of the June incomings which included $1.6 billion given to Ukraine’s central bank by the European Union, $1.2 billion from the United States, and $886 million from the World Bank.

The reserve is held in foreign currencies and gold, reports the Polish financial newspaper Rzeczpospolita.

Reuters reports Ukraine has received $23.6 billion in cash from Western partners this year so far.

Bank governor Andriy Pyshnyi thanked Western partners for the cash injections in a statement on the figures on Friday morning. He said:

This is a record for the entire independent history of Ukraine. An incredible achievement for a country at war… The involvement of international partners is extremely powerful, and the volume of external financing is historic.

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