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This content was produced in Russia where the law
restricts
coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine
(Adds more details in paragraphs 7-10)
By Elena Fabrichnaya and Alexander Marrow
MOSCOW, March 10 (Reuters) - Russia's current account
surplus shrank to $12.9 billion in January-February, the central
bank said on Friday, a more than 65% drop on an annual basis as
reduced export revenues and recovering imports squeeze the
country's capital buffers.
Russia's current account surplus hit a record high in 2022, helped by a fall in imports and by robust oil and gas exports that 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 24.8% year-on-year in the first two months of the year, in part due to price caps and embargoes on Russian oil and gas products. Energy revenues have been particularly low, down 46.4% in January-February. Slumping revenue combined with soaring expenditure pushed Russia's federal budget to a deficit of 2.58 trillion roubles ($33.8 billion) in the first two months of the year. The current account, a measure of the difference between all money coming into a country through trade, investment and transfers, and what flows back out, had stood at $37.7 billion in January-February 2022. Higher commodity prices throughout 2022 helped push the current account last year to $227.4 billion, up 86% from 2021. A slow recovery in imports in the second half of last year, combined with the drop in the value of exports, seen starkly in the lower price for Russia's Urals blend , has put pressure on the rouble currency, which late last month slid to its weakest level since last April.
Russia's 2023 budget is based on a Urals price of $70.10
per barrel, but its average price in February was $49.56 a
barrel, 1.86 times lower than in February 2022.
The central bank in February lowered its 2023 current
account surplus forecast to $66 billion from $123 billion.
Russia has stopped disclosing net capital outflow data.
($1 = 76.3945 roubles)
(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Alexander Marrow
Editing by Gareth Jones)
