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5.2.2 Current account dynamics
Russia's current account surplus was $12.9bn in 3Q19, up slightly from $10.6bn in 2Q19. This reflected basically balanced net capital flows between residents and non-residents - inflow of $0.8bn in 2Q19 and outflow of $1.3bn in 3Q19.
The inflow of FX liquidity from the current account in both periods was mainly absorbed by CBR FX purchases (on behalf of the Finance Ministry) under the budget rule and also to compensate for the halt to acquisitions between August and December 2018.
In 9m19, the current account surplus totalled $57.2bn, generally in line with our expectation for the full year ($86bn). In 4Q19, we expect the surplus to widen. This should be reflected in the financial account via seasonally high external debt redemptions.
58 RUSSIA Country Report November 2019 www.intellinews.o
