In October, due to the absence of significant repayments of public debt, the current account deficit declined from September, to USD 863 million. This was higher than last year, however, owing to a material goods trade deficit.

In the 10 months of 2018, the current account deficit widened to USD 4.6 billion (from USD 1.7 billion in the same period last year).

In October, exports of goods returned to growth (rising 11% yoy or USD 3.9 billion), primarily on the back of the higher harvest of corn.

Compared to export volumes typically recorded in October, total exports of grains reached an all-time high of 4.2 million tonnes, up 1.5 times yoy in monetary terms.  Exports of other foods, such as chicken, sugar, fats, and oils, improved as well. The overall exports of foods increased 15.8% yoy in October.

At the same time, the growth in the value of exports of metallurgy products in October slowed to 3.2% yoy owing to less favorable prices, a drop in production, and complicated logistics in the Sea of Azov.

Total exports of goods increased 10% to USD 35.5 billion in January–October compared to the same period last year.

The growth in imports of goods accelerated in October (to 22.2% yoy or USD 5.6 billion), driven by non-energy imports.

Strong domestic investment demand propelled more rapid growth of machinery imports, while robust consumer demand fueled the further increase in imports of foods and industrial goods.

Energy imports continued to grow rapidly in October, driven by domestic demand from agriculture and by high energy prices.

Overall, imports increased 16% yoy to USD 46.1 billion in January–October.

In October, inflows of capital to the financial account totaled USD 1.0 billion, primarily generated by debt operations in the private sector.

Net FDI inflows in October amounted to USD 203 million, 64% of which was allocated to the real sector. In the 10 months of 2018, net FDI inflows reached USD 1.7 billion (25% of which came from debt-to-equity operations in the banking sector).

Overall, the financial account recorded a net capital inflow of USD 4.3 billion between January and October 2018, up from the same period in 2017 (USD 3.8 billion).

As a result, the balance of payments recorded a surplus of USD 164 million. Thus, the international reserves increased to USD 16.7 billion in late October, covering 2.8 months of future imports.

In January–October, the balance of payments posted a deficit of USD 254 million.

October 2018 data are available in the External Sector Statistics section.

For more details on the balance of payments, see the Macroeconomic and Monetary Review (November 2018), which will be published on 30 November 2018.