Page 53 - RusRPTFeb21

5.0​ External Sector & Trade External Trade in Goods (Balance of Payments Methodology)
External Trade in Services
5.1​ External sector overview
Russia’s balance of payments remained in a healthy state ​in 2020 despite the pandemic, a major decline in economic activity and capital flows. We forecast significant improvement in the country’s external accounts in 2021.
In 2020, Russia posted a current account surplus of $32.5bn, according to preliminary data released by the CBR. This is twice lower than a year ago ($64.8bn in 2019), but still is a positive achievement, given the recession and a spike in capital outflows caused by the pandemic. Last year, exports from Russia fell 21.5% y/y to $329.5bn while imports were down 5.7% y/y ($2401.bn). The volume of foreign direct investment fell by a massive 20 times
53 ​RUSSIA Country Report​ February 2021 ​ ​www.intellinews.com