The National Bank of Ukraine has updated the official exchange rates of the main currencies for Thursday, August 27. According to RBC-Ukraine, both the US dollar and the euro continued to weaken on the domestic market. Experts link the further dynamics primarily to the country's trade balance and seasonal purchases, which traditionally intensify toward autumn.

Official rates for August 27

As of August 27, the NBU set the official dollar rate at 44.57 UAH. The day before, on August 26, the US currency was worth 44.67 UAH, meaning the dollar fell by 10 kopecks over the course of a day. The official euro rate on the same day stood at 52.00 UAH, compared with 52.08 UAH on August 26 — the European currency lost 8 kopecks. Thus, both key currencies maintained a downward trend amid a moderate decline.

Imports as the main pressure factor on the currency

According to Taras Lesovyi, Director of the Financial Markets and Investment Activities Department at Globus Bank, one of the main factors for the currency market in September will be demand from importers. From January to July 2026, Ukraine imported goods worth $58.1 billion, while the volume of exports amounted to only $24.1 billion. The negative balance of foreign trade in goods over this period reached approximately $34 billion — for every dollar of goods exports, there is about 2.4 dollars of imports. This imbalance structurally supports demand for foreign currency.

Seasonal demand in September

In the expert's view, currency demand may be further strengthened in September due to seasonal purchases. This includes, in particular, the acquisition of energy resources, fuel, and equipment ahead of the autumn-winter season. This will create additional foreign currency demand from importers and may partially offset the current weakening of the dollar and euro rates.

Contradictory data

Open sources record a discrepancy in assessing the direction of the rate's movement. The primary RBC-Ukraine material and the NBU's infographics clearly indicate a decline: the dollar from 44.67 to 44.57 UAH, the euro from 52.08 to 52.00 UAH. At the same time, the headline of the Korrespondent publication states that "the NBU began raising the dollar and euro rates," which contradicts the figures cited in the main text. Moreover, a number of analysts (in particular, in forecasts for the following week) operate with a dollar range of around 44.6–45.2 UAH, implying possible stabilization or a slight upward rebound. Thus, the short-term dynamics are confirmed by the NBU's figures, but the interpretation of the trend for the coming week varies across publications.

Bottom line: on August 27 both currencies officially fell, however the structural trade balance deficit and the approach of the autumn-winter season create risks of strengthened importer demand in September. Readers should bear in mind that the spread of assessments in the media is due to the difference between the NBU's fixed rates and analysts' forecasts for the following weeks.