Page 57 - RusRPTOct23

5.0 External Sector & Trade 5.1 External sector overview
Russia’s foreign trade surplus plummeted by more than 3.1 times in January-August 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 and amounted to $72.6bn, according to the preliminary assessment of the Bank of Russia on September 11.
The surplus of balance of payments account in January-July 2023 decreased by more than 7.2 times to $25.6bn.
"The decisive role in the dynamics of the indicator was played by a decrease in trade surplus by 68.3% (by $156.7bn). According to the first estimate in August 2023, the current account surplus was $2.8bn," the regulator said in a statement.
The reduction in foreign trade surplus in goods in comparison with January-August 2022 was caused by a decrease in the value of exports by 31.8% as a result of a decrease in physical volumes of supplies and world prices for the main goods of Russian exports, the regulator noted.
Trade volumes in Russia have made a remarkable recovery, reaching pre-war levels despite Western sanctions, Rosstat reported on September 5.
According to reports, these sanctions have not inflicted significant damage on Russian trade. Both exports and imports by the Russian Federation have now returned to the levels observed in 2021.
Suring oil prices have help as the cost of a barrel of Brent rose above $90 this week after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) announced that it was extending its voluntary production cut until January. Russia has also imposed and extended a voluntary 500,000 barrels a day cut to support prices.
The recovery in the price of Russia’s Urals blend benchmark to above $60 in the last months has also helped. Urals currently costs $74 per barrel at the time of writing and is also expected to make gains in the coming months.
The failure of oil sanctions to make a big dent in Russia’s oil business means Russia Inc is still in profit. And the failure of things like the technology sanctions to have an effect means Russia’s international trade remains healthy.
57 RUSSIA Country Report October 2023 www.intellinews.com