KIEV, Jan. 29 – The situation on the currency market is stable, the hryvnia exchange rate has stabilized in the range of UAH 24.80-25.25/$1, National Bank of Ukraine Governor Valeriya Gontareva said at a press conference.

"The situation on the currency market is stable. The currency exchange rate recently was at UAH 25-25.20/$1. The NBU did not enter the market with interventions for the third day in a row: the market itself finds the balance in the range of UAH 24.80-25.25/$1," she said.

Gontareva said that the instantaneous and fundamental factors influence the market.

"At the NBU said several times that extra hryvnia exchange rate fluctuations is the result of misbalance between demand and supply of foreign currency due to holidays. To smooth volatility, the NBU carried out interventions on the interbank market, selling $118 million recently," she said.

The NBU head said that the main factors are fundamental: the worsening of the situation on foreign markets, the fall in the prices of commodities, the closure of Russia for Ukrainian exporters and this affected the country's balance of payment and the hryvnia exchange rate.

Gontareva said that at present, the currencies of all countries are devaluating towards the U.S. dollar, especially in the exporting countries, and the CIS currencies are among them (Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan). They are trade partners of Ukraine.

She said that these risks could be partially offset by the arrival of official financing under the IMF program and other programs and low prices of energy.

Commenting on the cash hryvnia exchange rate, the NBU head said that normally it is slightly higher than the interbank exchange rate.

The cash market is also influenced by the mood of the population, seasonal factors and extra liquidity that could be linked to social payments.

"The introduction of the non-fixed, flexible exchange rate formation envisages exchange rate fluctuations. The situation on the currency market remains predictable and manageable," Gontareva said. (om/ez)