MOSCOW, August 13 The current account deficit of the Russian balance of payments in July amounted to $0.5 billion against a surplus of $0.2 billion a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Russia. This is the first case of deficit since August 2020.
«The current account balance in July 2024 was close to zero (-0.5 billion US dollars, in June 2024 +5.1 billion US dollars). The decrease in the current account balance is largely due to a seasonal increase in accruals for dividends announced by Russian companies and imports of services, as well as a slight decrease in the trade balance surplus,» the regulator said in a statement.
Russia has not had a current account deficit in the balance of payments for almost four years — the last time it was recorded in August 2020 at the level of 1.4 billion dollars. At the same time, a year ago, at the end of June, the Central Bank reported that Russia's balance of payments went into negative territory due to the payment of dividends by Russian companies, but the following month it clarified it to a surplus.
According to the Central Bank, the current account surplus for January-July 2024 was USD 39.7 billion, compared to USD 23.5 billion in the corresponding period of 2023.