Ukraine devalues its currency by 25% against USD

Ukraine’s central bank has devalued the country’s hryvnia currency by 25% against the US dollar to help the country deal with the growing economic impact of the war with Russia.

The Central Bank of Ukraine said in a statement that it set the new hryvnia rate at 36.5686 to the dollar, compared to the previous rate of 29.25 set at the start of the war nearly 5 months ago.

The currency devaluation comes a day after Ukraine asked creditors for a two-year pay freeze on its international bonds in a bid to focus its dwindling financial resources on fending off Russia.

At the end of 2020, Ukraine had $130 billion in outstanding debt, according to World Bank data.

Ukraine has allocated nearly $20 billion internationally in dollar and euro-denominated bonds maturing from 2022 to 2030 to be subject to a debt freeze.