Page 62 - RusRPTJan23

5.2 Balance of payments, current account
According to preliminary data from the CBR, Russia posted a current account surplus of $10.3bn in November, down from $17.7bn in October and $16.5bn last November, but much higher than the surpluses seen in November of 2019 and 2020. (chart)
This brought the current account surplus over 11m22 to $225.7bn. The narrowing of the current account surplus in November was attributable to the goods and services surplus, which shrank to $12.7bn from $19.3bn in October due to lower oil and gas exports and a recovery in imports. This put the goods and services surplus over 11m22 at $269.8bn. With all that being said, the current account data is subject to revision.
“The 11m22 data was generally in line with our expectations. We anticipate a current account surplus of around $10bn in December as well. This would bring the surplus over the full year to $235bn. Next year, we expect the current account surplus to shrink to $120bn due to higher imports and lower exports,” Sber said in a note.
The CBR said in its comments:
● · a decisive role in the current account expansion was played by a record increase in the surplus of the balance on goods and services as a result of the growth in the value of exports of goods due to favourable price conditions with a
62 RUSSIA Country Report January 2023 www.intellinews.com