Russian trade surplus rose by one-third in the first half of the year

A surplus of 59.1 billion USD was generated in Russia’s foreign trade balance in the first half of this year, which is 32.2 percent more than the 44.7 billion USD of a year before, the Russian central bank said.

According to the data released in the Russian press on Tuesday, exports rose by 29.2 percent to 165.8 billion USD, while imports rose by 27.4 percent to 106.6 billion USD in the January to June period, so foreign trade turnover rose by 28.5 percent to 272.4 billion USD.

In the second quarter, exports rose by 1.2 percent to 83.4 billion USD and imports rose by 22.1 percent to 58.6 billion USD in quarterly comparisons, resulting in a surplus of 24.8 billion USD, 27.9 percent less than in January- March’s 34.4 billion USD. (MTI)