Daily Insight-Hryvnia steady, equities mixed; BoP deficit remains high, at US$1.1bn, though improved YoY

On Thursday, the hryvnia retained its steady trend on the Ukrainian FX market. According to UkrDealing, trading opened at 7.96-7.99/USD, the same rate as of the end of trading Wednesday, and closed at nearly the same rate of 7.96-7.98/USD, the strongest point reached during the day. The NBU kept its official exchange rate unchanged, at 7.99/USD, for Thursday, and again bought dollars on the FX market at a rate of 7.98/USD. The hryvnia stayed nearly unchanged on the cash FX market, at 7.9568/USD on bid offers at the domestic interchange stations, and 8.0256/USD on ask offers. Ukraine\'s stock markets moved in different directions on Thursday, with the PFTS index rising by 0.6%, to end the day at 706.81 points, and the UX stock exchange down by 1.37%, to 1,783.93 points. Total turnover on the PFTS was down more than 1.5x from the previous day\'s volume, at US$16.23m (UAH129.7m), which comprised equity trading (3.41% of the total), state bonds (96.46%), and corporate bonds (0.12%). The total amount of securities traded on the UX stock exchange was up slightly, at US$5.95m (UAH47.6m).