The National Bank of Ukraine set the official currency rates for Wednesday, August 26, 2026. Compared with the previous banking day, both major currencies — the US dollar and the euro — showed a decline, as recorded in the regulator's data.

Official NBU rate on August 26

The US dollar rate on August 26 is set at 44.67 UAH per unit. This is 3 kopecks lower than the day before, when the American currency was worth 44.70 UAH. The euro also became cheaper: the regulator recorded a rate of 51.08 UAH, which is 7 kopecks lower than the previous day's figure.

Dynamics: from the rise on August 24 to the decline

It is important to consider the multi-day trajectory. As late as August 24, several outlets reported a rise in the dollar and a new high for the euro, but by August 26 both currencies had turned toward weakening against the hryvnia. Thus, the decline on August 26 is a correction after a short-term rise, not a continuation of a sustained one-way trend.

Deposit versus buying currency: a banker's calculation

Serhiy Mamedov, Vice President of the Association of Ukrainian Banks and Chairman of the Board of Globus Bank, emphasized in a comment to RBC-Ukraine that a hryvnia deposit and buying currency should be compared by real yield after taxes. According to his calculation, if you place 100,000 hryvnias for six months at 17.5% per annum, the net income will be approximately 6,700 hryvnias, and the total amount in the deposit — about 106,700 hryvnias.

What dollar rate is needed to match the deposit

According to the banker, to get a comparable result from buying American currency, the dollar must rise by more than 6.7% over the same six months. As an example, he cited a situation where the rate at the time of purchase is 45 UAH: for a similar financial result in half a year, the rate must rise to approximately 48 UAH per dollar. At the same time, the calculation does not account for the difference between the buying and selling rates of currency at the bank, which in practice further reduces the yield from a speculative transaction.

What this means for a depositor

The practical conclusion from the figures presented: with the current deposit yield (around 17.5% per annum) and a slight decline in the rate on August 26, buying currency "for the rise" requires the investor to precisely hit a dynamic exceeding 6.7% in half a year to outperform the guaranteed after-tax yield of the deposit. The spread between buying and selling at exchange points only strengthens this threshold.