The growth was due to the government, whose external debt added $10.5 billion and reached $98.3 billion.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, Ukraine’s total external debt increased by $10.6 billion to $161.5 billion. Relative to GDP, debt increased from 89.3% to 90.7%. Interfax-Ukraine reported this with reference to data from the National Bank on Tuesday, March 26.
It is indicated that the growth occurred due to the government, whose external debt added $10.5 billion and reached $98.3 billion, or 55.2% of GDP. External liabilities of the private sector increased by only $0.3 billion – to $63.2 billion (35.5% of GDP).
“This increase in public debt is related to the net attraction of loans from international partners ($7.4 billion) and from the IMF ($0.6 billion), as well as the weakening of the dollar ($2.5 billion). At the same time, the central bank’s external debt decreased by $0.2 billion due to planned payments to the IMF – to $2.2 billion,” the message said.
According to the regulator, the amount of external liabilities of other banks remained almost unchanged and reached $1.7 billion.
External debt of other sectors of the economy decreased in the fourth quarter by only $0.1 billion – to $40.3 billion: the reduction in external debt in trade loans (by $0.6 billion) was offset by an increase in debt to loans and borrowings (by $0.5 billion).
It was noted that the main currency of Ukraine’s external borrowings at the end of 2023 remained the US dollar – 47.7% of the total external debt. At the same time, its share fell by 1.7% during the quarter. The share of SDRs (from 10.5% to 10.2%) and Hryvnia (from 1.6% to 1.4%) also decreased, while the share of liabilities in euro increased significantly (from 35.4% to 37.8 %).
We remind you that Ukraine is preparing for debt restructuring. The need for this intensified after the international rating agency S&P Global Ratings downgraded Ukraine’s credit rating.
It was also reported that Ukraine’s public debt set a new historical record in January.
Source: korrespondent
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