Russian Trade Surplus Almost Doubles To $154.6Bln In January-October - Central Bank

Russia's trade surplus was up 1.7 times to $154.6 billion in the first 10 months of this year from 90.5 billion a year ago, its central bank said in a statement on Monday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th November, 2018) Russia's trade surplus was up 1.7 times to $154.6 billion in the first 10 months of this year from 90.5 billion a year ago, its central bank said in a statement on Monday.

"The decisive role has been played by the favorable price conditions for major Russia's exports commodities and the slowing growth rates of imports which have resulted in an increase of the surplus in external merchandise trade balance to $154.6 billion (against $90.5 billion in the January-October 2017 period)," the Bank of Russia estimated.

According to the central bank, the cumulative negative contribution of other current account components has declined. The surplus in the current account of Russia's balance of payments reached $87.

9 billion in the same period, up four times from the year before.

This trade surplus allowed Russia to accumulate international reserves. They grew $35.7 billion from $32.1 billion in January-October 2017, "mostly as a result of acquisition of foreign Currency within the framework of the budgetary rule," the central bank said.

The balance on financial transactions with nonresidents of the private sector totaled $42.2 billion this year, up from $14 billion in 2017. It was shaped roughly in equal proportions by banks' transactions to extinguish external liabilities and those by other sectors to acquire financial assets abroad.