MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. Russia’s foreign trade surplus dropped more than 2.7-fold in January-April 2023 year-on-year to $41.5 bln, according to preliminary estimates by the Central Bank.
Meanwhile, the surplus of the country’s payment account balance plunged more than four-fold in the same period to $22.6 bln.
"The surplus of the pay balance’s financial account was formed by the growth of foreign assets of the Russian economy and a decline in obligations to non-residents," the regulator said in a statement.
The decrease in trade balance surplus was due to contraction of exports as a result of declining physical volumes of supplies and global prices for main goods of Russian export amid a slight rise in import of goods. Moreover, the contraction of overall deficit of primary and secondary income was mainly due to a decrease in the volume of investment earnings paid by Russian companies to non-residents, the Central Bank explained.