Fixed Income
Ukraine’s sovereign Eurobonds declined last week as skepticism over the country’s readiness for the winter season triggered some selling momentum. Both Energy Minister Ihor Nasalyk and President Poroshenko were forced to go public with assurances stating that there will be no energy shortages during the heating season. Ukraine is starting off the 2016/17 winter heating season with gas reserves of 14.8bn cubic meters (cu-m) instead of the 17-19bn cu-m (mostly Russian imports) of recent years in storage to cover domestic consumption and guarantee stable gas transit to Europe. Ukraine’s last 3 winters have been warmer-than-average. In Donbass-related developments, Germany played down prospects of a Ukraine-related summit with France and Russia taking place in the near future. Earlier in Paris, the French presidency had said that a meeting on Ukraine, which would also involve President Poroshenko, might take place this week. It now looks clear that France is pushing Ukraine to make a maj
