Russia’s current account surplus rose by 12.7% to $65.8 bln in 2015 — Central Bank

MOSCOW, January 18. /TASS/. Russia’s current account surplus of the payment balance increased to $65.8 bln in 2105, the Central Bank said Monday.

According to the Central Bank, the growth was due to a substantial reduction of the negative contribution of the balance of services and investment income, including decline in external debt payments against a reduction of total debt to non-residents.

Net capital outflow from Russia in 2015 totaled $56.9 bln against $153 bln in 2014, the Russian Central Bank went on to say.

At the same time, net capital outflow from Russia in the Q4 2015 totaled $9.2 bln. In the Q3, according to the Central Bank, capital inflow to Russia amounted to $3.4 bln.

The Central Bank said that in contrast to previous years, the main component in the structure of net capital outflow was repayment of private external debt. At the same time, the most significant part was the reduction in external liabilities of banks, which was carried out by not only selling foreign assets, but also the funds accumulated for current account transactions.

"Other sectors, while in the harsh conditions of external financing, were also forced to repay external debt at the minimum increasing of foreign assets in recent years, mainly in the form of direct investments," the Central Bank said.