BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 6
By Nargiz Sadikhova – Trend:
Kazakhstan’s National Bank has prepared the preliminary data on the country’s balance of payments for 1Q2021, Trend reports citing the National Bank.
The current account was formed with a deficit of $1.2 billion. The main reason for the deficit is a decrease in the export of goods while import volume increased.
The country’s export volume decreased by 19.9 percent to $11.5 billion mainly due to the decrease in oil export value, the share of which in overall export was 48.5 percent. The value of oil exports decreased due to the somewhat low oil prices in 4Q2020, which affected the export data for 1Q2021.
Imports were supported by a rebound in business activity and deferred domestic demand. The increase in imports volume amounted to 4.8 percent, to $7.6 billion, due to an increase in the import of consumer non-food and investment goods.
The largest increases were in the import of consumer goods such as cars, clothing, and computers. The increase in export of these goods $0.5 billion compared to 1Q2020.
The balance of payments of Kazakhstan continues to be characterized by a positive balance of trade with a negative balance of income. The investment income balance deficit increased by $0.7 billion in 1Q2021. Direct investor revenues totaled $4.3 billion, up 20.6 percent year-on-year.
The preliminary data of the current account for 1Q2021 corresponds to the forecast of the National Bank.
The National Bank said that depending on the dynamics of oil prices, the deficit this year will be from $2.8 billion to $4.8 billion.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @nargiz_sadikh