Balance of Payments - Estimate

August 2026

The essentials:

The Bank of Russia published the estimate of the balance of payments of the Russian Federation for August 2026 and revised the estimate for July 2026 due to the receipt of additional reporting data as of 15 October, 2026.

The current account surplus in August 2026 amounted to $3.3 billion (the updated value of July 2026 – $1.6 billion, August 2025 – $0.5 billion deficit).

The current account surplus in January-August 2026 amounted to $35.0 billion from $21.0 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 August 2026:

• the trade balance surplus amounted to $11.7 billion (July 2026 – $13.3 billion; August 2025 – $7.3 billion). The year-on-year increase of the indicator was associated with the outstripping exports growth compared to imports;
• the negative balance on services rose to $6.3 billion (July 2026 – $5.4 billion; August 2025 – $5.8 billion). The change of the indicator compared to July 2026 was driven by the last summer month’s traditional increase in the number of Russians’ foreign trips. Construction services exports were lower compared to August of last year; at the same time imports were stable;
• the total deficit in primary and secondary income amounted to $2.1 billion (July 2026 – $6.4 billion; August 2025 – $2.0 billion), the indicator decreased after reaching the peak amounts of investment income accrued to non-residents in July; year-on-year the indicator remained almost unchanged;
• external assets (excluding reserve assets) rose by $12.5 billion (July 2026 – $7.3 billion; August 2025 – $0.5 billion) as a result of the increase in non-residents’ indebtedness on international trade settlements;
• external liabilities grew by $6.2 billion (July 2026 – $9.8 billion; August 2025 – $2.4 billion reduction), owing to, among other things, the rise in non-residents’ balances in accounts and deposits because of the dividends payouts;
• reserve assets rose by $0.8 billion (by $6.1 billion in July 2026).

Key Aggregates in January-August 2026:

• the trade balance surplus increased to $91.6 billion ($73.3 billion in January- August 2025) due to the exports growth associated with the rising prices in global commodity markets;
• the deficit in the balance on services grew to $33.7 billion ($31.4 billion in January-August 2025), the main contribution was made by the outstripping imports increase associated with the rise in Russians’ spending during foreign trips and the increase in the value of transport services provided by non-residents. The exports growth was more moderate and primarily driven by transport services;
• the total deficit in primary and secondary income was higher than last year’s level: $22.9 billion against $20.9 billion a year earlier. The main contribution was made by the increase in personal transfers payable to foreign households with the decline in the negative balance of investment income;
• external assets growth (excluding reserve assets) amounted to $47.3 billion ($30.4 billion in January-August 2025) owing to the rise in non-residents’ indebtedness on international trade settlements;
• external liabilities increased by $23.3 billion ($5.8 billion a year earlier) because of the significant rise in non-residents’ balances in accounts and deposits;
• reserve assets grew by $7.5 billion ($12.8 billion reduction a year earlier).