Page 60 - RusRPTSept21

5.2 Balance of payments, current account
According to the Bank of Russia’s preliminary estimate, in January-July 2021 the current account surplus of the balance of payments of the Russian Federation reached $51.7bn, which was a higher value compared to not only the corresponding level of 2020, but also to the indicator of current cross-border transactions of the country in 2019.
The foreign trade surplus increased noticeably (1.5 times), as a result of the advanced growth in the value of both energy and non-energy exports compared to the import of goods. The aggregate deficit of other current account components did not change significantly in comparison with the same period of the previous year.
A positive balance of financial transactions of the private sector in January-July 2021, according to preliminary data, remained almost at the level of the same period of 2020, and totaled $34.9bn. However, the structure of the indicator changed significantly: unlike the situation a year earlier, when the decline in private sector liabilities played a decisive role in net lending of the rest of the world, in the period under review, the rise of external assets by other sectors became the key trend.
International reserves increased by $14.5bn mainly as a result of foreign currency transactions carried out by the Bank of Russia under the fiscal rule.
60 RUSSIA Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com