OREANDA-NEWS  Russia's foreign trade surplus, reflecting the ratio of the value of exports and imports of domestic goods, rose sharply in March, increasing by more than two and a half times to the levels of the previous month. This is evidenced by the data of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which is cited by TASS.

Year-on-year, this important macroeconomic indicator rose by $ 1.68 billion, and by the levels of February 2026 — by more than 8.5 billion, to $ 13.97 billion.

At the beginning of the year, against the background of an increase in imports and a decrease in exports, the surplus was at significantly lower levels, amounting, according to updated data from the Central Bank, to 6.5 billion dollars in January and 5.4 billion in February.

In March, Russian exports totaled $41.06 billion, while imports totaled $27.1 billion.

Earlier, it became known from the preliminary data of the Ministry of Finance that the decline in oil and gas revenues, which largely affects the growth of the federal budget deficit, slowed down, amounting to 38.3 percent in January-April compared to 45.4 percent in the first quarter.