According to the Central Bank of Russia, the country’s current account surplus has tripled compared to the same period in 2021. Two key reasons led to this – record prices for energy carriers, primarily for the main items of Russian exports – gas and oil, and a sharp drop in the country’s imports due to Western sanctions, reports Pravda.ua.

Thanks to the sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the aggressor state tripled its current account balance compared to the same period last year to $166.6 billion.

This is evidenced by preliminary data published by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The current account is the sum of the trade balance (exports minus imports), net income from abroad, and net current transfers.

Thus, in July-June 2022, the current account surplus amounted to $166.6 billion, which is approximately three times higher than in the same period of 2021, when it amounted to $50.2 billion.

The reason is that export revenues to Russia have increased significantly due to record energy prices and the absence of sanctions on Russian gas and oil (the sixth package of EU oil embargo sanctions begins in February 2023).

On the other hand, as a result of the sanctions, imports to this country fell significantly, which led to an increase in profits.

It is assumed that the total deficit of other components of the current account balance remained at the level of the previous year.