Russian trade surplus rises to $17.6 bln in February - Klepach
MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) - Russia's trade surplus rose to $17.6 billion in February, up from $15.3 billion in February 2013, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach said at a briefing in Moscow on Monday.
Exports totaled $41.8 billion in February, compared to $41.9 billion a year earlier and $39.5 billion a month earlier, the ministry estimates.
"In February, exports grew 5.9% compared to January and decreased by 0.1% compared to February last year," Klepach said.
Imports totaled $24.2 billion in February, compared to $26.5 billion a year earlier and $20.6 billion a month earlier. "Thus, imports in February jumped 17.3% compared to January, but were lower than in February last year," Klepach said.
Russian exports in the first two months of 2014, the ministry estimates, rose to $81.3 billion from $80.7 billion in the same period of 2013, while imports dropped to $44.8 billion from $48.2 billion.