Russian trade surplus narrows 18.5% to $12.6 bln in Jan - Econ Ministry
MOSCOW. Feb 29 (Interfax) - Russia's trade surplus narrowed 18.5% year-on-year in January to $12.6 billion, the Economic Development Ministry said in a monitoring report.
Merchandise exports fell 18.1% year-on-year to $22.7 billion and imports fell 17.7% to $10.1 billion.
Urals crude fell 21.7% in price in January compared with to December 2015 to $28.5 a barrel and was 38.7% lower than in January 2015.
London Metals Exchange prices fell 3.6% for copper, 2.4% for nickel and 1% for aluminum in January compared with December. Compared with January 2015, nickel fell 42.6%, copper - 23.3% and aluminum - 18.2%.
Average contract prices for Russian natural gas at the German border were, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), down 12.4% on the previous month at $183.2 per thousand cubic meters in January 2016, and down 46.4% from January last year.
The ruble weakened 7.4% against the major currencies in nominal terms and an estimated 6.7% in real terms in January. The Econ Ministry estimates that in real terms, the ruble fell 8% against the US dollar, 6.6% against the euro, 3.8% against sterling, 6.6% against the Swiss franc, 9.4% against the yen, 4.7% against the Canadian dollar and 5.7% against the Australian dollar in January.