Russia: Trade surplus continues narrowing as exports contract again in September
Merchandise exports totaled USD 35.0 billion in September, representing a 9.3% contraction from the USD 38.6 billion sum recorded in the same month of 2018. The contraction in September was only slightly softer than August’s 9.7% year-on-year drop.
Meanwhile, imports totaled USD 20.9 billion in September, jumping 5.6% year-on-year from September 2018’s USD 19.8 billion. Notably, September’s represented a considerable acceleration from August’s moderate 0.8% year-on-year uptick and marked the strongest growth since May 2018.
As a result, the trade surplus shrank to USD 14.1 billion in September 2019, from USD 18.8 billion in September 2018. Meanwhile, the trailing 12-month sum of the trade balance came in at USD 181 billion, below August’s USD 185 billion and marking the lowest result since September 2018.