Russia: Trade surplus continues shrinking in January amid contracting exports
Merchandise exports contracted for the ninth consecutive month at the outset of the year, falling 4.3% year-on-year and totaling USD 29.5 billion in January (December: -3.0% year-on-year).
Meanwhile, merchandise imports rose 3.7% year-on-year in the opening month of the year to USD 17.0 billion. January’s print represented a marked slowdown from the previous month’s 7.7% year-on-year increase.
As a result, the trade surplus shrank to USD 12.5 billion in January 2020, from USD 14.4 billion in January 2019. Meanwhile, the trailing 12-month sum of the trade balance shrank to an 17-month low of USD 163 billion in January, from the previous month’s USD 165 billion.