WAR WINFALL
Soaring oil and gas prices help Russia more than triple its current account surplus to $96 billion, its largest in 28 years


Phil Rosen
Mon, May 16, 2022, 

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Kaliningrad in 2018.Alexei Nikolsky/Reuters

Russia has a current account surplus of $95.8 billion in the first four months of 2022, central bank data shows.

That's more than triple the $27.5 billion from the same span last year.

Russian oil export revenue is up 50% since the start of 2022, the International Energy Agency said last week.

Russia has a current account surplus of $95.8 billion so far in 2022, the central bank said, helped by surging prices for oil and gas exports paired with cratering imports amid Western sanctions.

This year's surplus is more than triple the $27.5 billion in the same span last year and is the highest since 1994.

Western sanctions have yet to fully deter global customers from buying Russian oil. While the European Union has publicly condemned the Kremlin for its war in Ukraine, it has yet to impose an oil embargo and remains Russia's top export market. Meanwhile, China and India have stepped up purchases of Russian oil.

Last week, the International Energy Agency said Russian oil export revenue is up 50% since the start of 2022 with the Kremlin generating close to $20 billion per month in sales.

Export volume has rebounded to levels seen before Russia invaded Ukraine. In April, Russian oil exports climbed by 620,000 barrels per day from the prior month to 8.1 million, back to their January and February average, the IEA said.

Revenue from oil and gas sales — as well as Moscow's strict capital controls — have helped prop up Russia's ruble, which has become the world's top-performing currency against the dollar.