Page 35 - UKRRptAug20

5.2​ Balance of payments
The trade balance surplus reached $373mn in May​ (vs. a $930mn surplus in April), with the goods trade balance switching to an insignificant deficit of $122mn (vs. a 273mn surplus in April).
The primary income account reached a $495mn surplus (vs. a 557mn surplus in April), while the secondary income account surplus amounted to $266mn (vs. a 244mn surplus in April). In 5M20, the current account surplus amounted to $5.6bn (vs. a $1.1bn deficit in 5M19).
Good imports plunged 35.5% year on year to $3.3bn in May, accelerating from a 29.8% y/y decline in April. In particular, the decline in imports of mineral products accelerated to 53.7% y/y (from a 39.7% y/y decline in April). Imports of chemicals dropped 33.3% y/y (vs. a 17.9% y/y decline in April). In 5M20, goods imports dropped 16.5% y/y.
The decline in goods exports accelerated 24.7% y/y to $3.1bn in May from a drop of 3.8% y/y in April. In particular, the decline in metal exports deepened to 32.1% y/y (vs. 18.1% y/y in April). Food exports switched to a 13.4% y/y fall from 6.6% y/y growth in April. Exports of mineral products plummeted 35.2% y/y (vs. 12.1% y/y growth in April). In 5M20, goods exports declined 6.1% y/y.
The financial account deficit swelled to $1.7bn in May from $1.2bn in April. The net outflow from the state budget of $1.3bn was the result of repayments in Eurobonds ($1bn) and the net sale of local bonds by non-residents ($0.3bn). In addition, the net outflow on foreign direct investment (FDI) amounted to $323mn (vs. an inflow of $360mn in April).
35​ UKRAINE Country Report​ August 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com