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talk about the consolidation of the trend, Valery Yemelyanov, an expert on the stock market at BCS World of Investments, believes.
The main consequences of the current reduction in the EU trade deficit will be some strengthening of the euro against the dollar, as well as a slowdown in inflation, which, if the trend continues, may slow down from the current 10% to 5-6% in the coming months, Yemelyanov said.
Commodity traders likely saw a record $115.6bn in gross margin last year on market volatility driven by Russia’s war in Ukraine. If confirmed by trading companies’ annual profit figures — many of which haven’t been released yet — it would be a 61% increase over the previous year, consultants Oliver Wyman said in the study. The aftershocks of Russia’s invasion a little over a year ago sent commodity prices from energy to metals and grains on a tear. That volatility, along with sanctions and export restrictions, created arbitrage opportunities for traders as the world’s energy and food supply maps were redrawn. Gross margin in the commodities trading industry topped $100bn last year according to Oliver Wyman. Industry revenue has roughly tripled from the $36bn in 2018, according to the report. Gross margins from independent trading houses far outstripped others in the sector. For the first time, the consultancy’s analysis split out hedge fund numbers into their own section, having merged them with others beforehand.
The US is helping Central Asia to abandon trade with the Russian Federation. During his visit to Kazakhstan, the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, emphasized that the US is closely monitoring Russia's attempts to circumvent sanctions through Central Asia and expressed concern that Russia is obtaining microchips and other technology through imports from its neighbours. Blinken said that the Biden administration will allocate an additional $25M to help Central Asian countries diversify trade relations and export routes. In addition, the US has granted licences that can help companies in the region to conclude these activities and sever ties with Russia. Kazakhstan does not want its territory to be used to circumvent sanctions, the country's Foreign Minister, Mukhtar Tileuberdi, said at a joint briefing with Blinken. US officials monitor sanctions evasion and are optimistic that the region, long economically integrated with Russia, is showing some signs of disengagement.
Trade turnover between Russia and Iran increased by 20% in 2022 to $4.9bn, President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergey Katyrin told TASS. Iran may become a member of several state-economic unions in foreseeable future, among them the SCO, BRICS and even the EAEU. A temporary free trade agreement between the EAEU and Iran, which contributes to growth of the volume of trade transactions, was enforced on October 27, 2019, whereas last year a protocol on its extension was inked, as well as the talks on a full-fledged agreement were launched, according to Katyrin.
89 RUSSIA Country Report Russia April 2023 www.intellinews.com