Ukraine's gross hard currency reserves dipped only slightly to $17.2 billion as of April 30 from $17.3 billion a month earlier, the central bank said on Saturday, as the bank's market interventions eased.
Bank figures showed it had spent $232.8 billion while intervening on Ukraine's forex markets in April - compared to $724.4 million in March. Reserves stood at $19.4 billion at the beginning of the year - against $9.5 billion at the start of 2005. From January, the bank began intervening nearly on a daily basis to prop up the hryvnia currency against instability as parliament first sacked the government over a gas deal with Russia and uncertainty grew ahead of a March election.
Political parties are now engaged in protracted talks to form a government, with parties backing the liberal "Orange Revolution" in 2004 trying to set aside differences and piece together a stable coalition.