Russia: Exports growth stalls in March
Merchandise exports totaled USD 37.0 billion in March, which represented a 0.9% expansion from the USD 36.7 billion sum recorded in the same month of 2018. The result represented a notably slowdown compared with February’s 8.6% increase.
Meanwhile, imports contracted 3.2% year-on-year in March, a slightly smaller drop then February’s 4.2% decrease. Imports totaled USD 21.0 billion, below March 2018’s USD 21.6 billion. A weak domestic economy has caused import demand to shrivel in recent months. Accordingly, the trade surplus came in at USD 16.1 billion in March, which was above the USD 15.0 billion surplus recorded in February 2018.
The trailing 12-month sum of the trade balance came in at USD 196 billion, above February’s USD 195 billion result.