Russia: Merchandise exports grow at record pace in July
Merchandise exports soared 100.7% annually in July, on the heels of June’s 79.1% jump. July’s result marked the largest increase since our records began in January 1994. The upturn was underpinned by recovering foreign demand amid easing lockdown measures globally, which boosted appetite for manufacturing goods and commodities. That said, the result was flattered by the base effect. Meanwhile, merchandise imports jumped 33.2% in annual terms in July (June: +34.2% yoy).
As a result, the merchandise trade balance improved markedly from the previous month, recording a record-high of USD 23.2 billion surplus in July (June 2021: USD 18.3 billion surplus; July 2020: USD 4.9 billion surplus). Lastly, the trend improved, with the 12-month trailing merchandise trade balance recording a USD 129.5 billion surplus in July, compared to the USD 111.2 billion surplus in June.