As Russia’s invasion continues to ravage many parts of Ukraine, the flow of official statistical data has been erratic. This column outlines an alternative approach to measuring private consumption during war times, using aggregated bank micro-level data. Commercial banks have mostly remained operational during the war. Moreover, the electronic payment system has functioned unceasingly throughout the war period, providing stability of bank payments. Bank card activity suggests that private consumption fell in half during the first month of the war and plateaued by June 2022 at 70–74% of the previous year’s level.
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