Russias current account surplus shrinks 58.2% in Jan as exports fall

Russia's current account surplus shrinks 58.2% in Jan as exports fall

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia‘s current account surplus shrank 58.2% to $8 billion in January from $19.1 billion in the same month last year, the central bank said on Thursday, as the country’s export volumes decreased.

Russias current account surplus hit a record high in 2022, as a fall in imports and robust oil and gas exports kept foreign money flowing in despite Western efforts to isolate the Russian economy over the conflict in Ukraine.

But Moscow is now contending with sharply lower export revenues, down 35.1% year-on-year in January, in part due to price caps and embargoes on Russian oil and gas products.

“The significant reduction in the surplus of the balance of goods and services as a result of the decrease in the cost volume of exports of goods played a decisive role,” the central bank said.

Energy revenues were particularly low in January, down 46.4%. The slumping revenues combined with soaring expenditure to push Russias federal budget to a deficit of 1.76 trillion roubles ($24.2 billion) in the first month of the year.

The current account is a measure of the difference between all money coming into a country through trade, investment and transfers, and what flows back out.

($1 = 72.7425 roubles)