ASTANA, Kazakhstan, October 11. Kazakhstan’s current account balance is expected to be -1.5 percent of the GDP in 2023, Trend reports.
The latest World Economic Outlook report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that the forecast for the current year has increased from the previous outlook of April 2023 (-1.9 percent of the GDP).
In addition, the IMF estimates Kazakhstan's current account balance is expected to be -0.7 percent of the GDP in 2024 and -2.9 percent in 2028, while the previous forecast expected it to be -2 and -3.1 percent, respectively.
The current account balance of Kazakhstan in 2022 was a surplus of $8.5 billion. At the same time, in 2021, a deficit of $2.6 billion was recorded. The transition of the current account from a negative balance to a positive zone was associated with an improvement in the trade balance. Its surplus reached $36.4 billion and significantly improved compared to 2021 by $12.1 billion (50 percent). The growth of the surplus is ensured by the faster growth rate of exports of goods than imports.
Thus, exports of goods increased by 30.9 percent compared to 2021 and reached $86.1 billion. It was supported by stable external demand and high world prices for raw materials, in particular oil.
Imports of goods, in turn, increased by 19.7 percent to $49.8 billion. This is due to an increase in imports of intermediate goods (by 19.7 percent, or $3.9 billion) and non-food consumer goods (33.1 percent, or $2.9 billion).