Page 73 - RusRPTAug22

June. The Central Bank reported in the second quarter of 2022, the previous current account record was broken as the surplus was almost doubled the previous high for the first half of 2022 amounting to $138bn. This is already more than for the whole of 2021 of $110bn, which was also a record, and 3.5 times more than in the same period in 2021, and almost 2.5 times more than the previous semi-annual record recorded in 2008.
The positive balance of foreign trade amounted to $158.4bn in 2021, an increase of 2.6 times year on year.
And the monthly figures show the surplus continues to grow: in June it doubled from $14.5bn to $28.2bn.
Export growth in monetary terms (+22%) slowed down in the second quarter compared to the first (+69% y/y), which is dominated by oil exports but subject to fluctuations in the price of oil.
The balance of foreign trade in the second quarter increased due to a reduction in imports by 12% (versus a 22% increase in the first).
Unlike the budget and exporters, citizens (especially those who can transfer and spend money abroad) can benefit from a strong ruble. But, as practice has already shown, the state, suffering from the strengthening of the national currency, is quite capable of shifting losses onto citizens - for example, it was the high exchange rate of the ruble that was called one of the reasons for Gazprom to refuse record dividends in history.
5.2 Balance of payments, current account
Russia trade dynamics $bn
Mar 2020
Apr 2020
May 2020
Jun 2020
Jul 2020
Aug 2020
Sep 2020
Oct 2020
Nov 2020
Dec 2020
Jan 2021
Feb 2021
Mar 2021
foreign trade t/o
46.6
49.9
40.7
38.1
43.1
43.1
42.8
51.0
50.0
42.6
47.6
43.8
export of goods
28.1
29.6
23.5
20.9
24.2
23.7
23.3
30.5
28.2
24.7
27.6
26.4
import of goods
-18.5
-20.3
-17.2
-17.2
-18.9
-19.4
-19.5
-20.5
-21.8
-17.9
-20.0
-17.5
good trade balance
9.6
9.3
6.3
3.7
5.3
4.3
3.8
10.0
6.4
6.8
7.7
8.9
source: GKS
73 RUSSIA Country Report October 2020 www.intellinews.com