The first to respond to changes will be tour operators and airlines, and the last will be pharmacies.
Fuel
Prices for fuel, which have been rising since the beginning of the week (to an average of 16.76 UAH per liter of 'A-95'), do not promise to roll back as the hryvnia devalues. At least, not for now. 'The dollar's increase should stop, and stability in the currency market should last at least a week and a half to two weeks,' said the director of energy projects at the NTC 'Psychea', Gennady Ryabtsev.
Then prices will move proportionally. 'If the dollar exchange rate drops against the hryvnia, then fuel prices will also decrease by the same amount. But not immediately, rather gradually. Oil traders cannot react instantly to the shift since they purchased expensive fuel batches when the exchange rate was high,' explained Leonid Kosiantsyuk, president of the association 'United Operators of the Oil Products Market of Ukraine' to 'Vesti'.
Tour Packages
Travel agencies will respond to the dollar exchange rate changes immediately — on the same day. 'Tour operators tie their prices to the current exchange rate — this is a weighted average interbank rate with a specific coefficient adjustment. An adjustment of 0.2–2%. This varies by company, as with such exchange rate fluctuations, it is tricky to predict the dollar cost when purchasing travel packages from foreign partners,' said Igor Golubakha, chairman of the All-Ukrainian Association of Travel Operators to 'Vesti'.
Prices are promised not to be inflated. 'There are very few clients as it is. Companies are trying not to raise rates so as not to lose their clients entirely and not to lose destinations. In this business, profitability is currently no more than 10%,' assured Alla Shapovalova, head of the Committee of Entrepreneurs in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine, to 'Vesti'.
Air Travel
Airlines, which previously calculated ticket prices based on the official NBU rate, are now 'tying' prices to the interbank rate. There is too great a difference between them: non-cash was fluctuating around 14.0–15.0 UAH/$ on Tuesday-Wednesday, while the official rate was 12.94 UAH/$. 'All airlines buy and sell currency on the interbank market. Ticket rates are recalculated based on a fixed interbank exchange rate and change at midnight. This means tickets will be sold tomorrow at the rate of today’s non-cash trades. Any exchange rate jumps are extremely unfavorable for carriers: we transport passengers in September who bought tickets, say, in March (if a person now decides to cancel their ticket, we will return the hryvnias they paid at that time). To calculate flight costs and conclude contracts with international partners, we need stability for at least six months, in advance of the season,' noted Peter Falkovsky, deputy commercial director of 'Dnipravia' during a conversation with 'Vesti'.
Medications
Pharmacies respond to currency fluctuations the slowest. 'With a delay of 2-3 months. Current prices for medicines are calculated based on the summer dollar price of 11.7 UAH/$. They do not yet incorporate the price of 15 UAH/$, or even 13 UAH/$. Therefore, prices in pharmacies will rise by another 5-7% by October. Even if the rate returns to 12.90-13.0 UAH/$.', assured Evgeny Zhivodernikov, deputy director of the SMD company to 'Vesti'. People will continue to protect themselves from price increases by searching for Ukrainian analogs (where they exist) of foreign drugs. 'If we take data in natural units (in packages): from January to July 2014, the share of Ukrainian-produced goods has already increased by 6.5% (to 70.6%), and this trend will continue,' said Zhivodernikov.