Balance of Payments - Estimate

July 2026

The essentials:

The Bank of Russia published the estimate of the balance of payments of the Russian Federation for July 2026 and revised the estimate for April-June 2026 due to the receipt of additional reporting data as of 14 September, 2026.

The current account surplus in July 2026 amounted to $1.7 billion (the updated value of June 2026 – $4.5 billion, July 2025 – $1.0 billion). The increase in the indicator compared to July 2025 was connected with the outstripping rise in exports of goods compared to imports.

The current account surplus in January-July 2026 increased to $33.9 billion from $21.5 billion in the corresponding period of 2025, the main contribution was made by the growth in the value of exports of goods.

Key Aggregates in July 2026:

• the trade balance surplus rose to $13.6 billion (June 2026 – $12.3 billion; July 2025 – $11.8 billion). The dynamics of the indicator was driven by the more significant exports growth compared to imports;
• the negative balance on services amounted to $6.0 billion (June 2026 – $5.7 billion; July 2025 – $5.4 billion): amid stable exports the services imports increased year-on-year primarily owing to the rise in Russians’ spending during foreign trips;
• the total deficit in primary and secondary income amounted to $5.9 billion (June 2026 – $2.1 billion; July 2025 – $5.3 billion) exceeding last year’s level due to the growth of the investment income accrued to non-residents and the simultaneous reduction in the amount of income earned by residents;
• external assets (excluding reserve assets) rose by $7.4 billion (June 2026 – $1.4 billion decrease; July 2025 – $5.6 billion growth) owing to the temporary increase in non-residents’ indebtedness on trade settlements amid the exports growth;
• external liabilities growth amounted to $10.2 billion (June 2026 – $1.7 billion; July 2025 – $2.2 billion), its dynamics were driven by, among other things, the accrual of dividends to non-residents;
• reserve assets rose by $6.1 billion (by $5.7 billion in June 2026).

Key Aggregates in January-July 2026:

• the trade balance surplus increased to $79.0 billion ($66.0 billion in January- July 2025): the main factor was export growth associated with the rising prices in global commodity markets;
• the deficit in the balance on services rose to $27.9 billion ($25.6 billion in January-July 2025): the outstripping imports growth was mainly due to the travel services; the exports growth was more moderate and was primarily due to the increase in amount of transport services provided to non-residents as well as the rise in non-residents expenses during visits to the Russian Federation;
• the total deficit in primary and secondary income declined to $17.2 billion ($18.9 billion a year earlier), the main factor was the growth of other investment income receivable;
• external assets (excluding reserve assets) grew by $38.9 billion (by $30.0 billion in January-July 2025) mainly owing to the rise in non-residents’ indebtedness on international trade settlements;
• external liabilities increased by $21.6 billion ($8.2 billion a year earlier) primarily as a result of the rise in non-residents’ balances in accounts and deposits and in portfolio investment;
• reserve assets increased by $6.7 billion ($10.6 billion reduction a year earlier).