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Russia trade surplus, oil revs down in 2001-customs
MOSCOW, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A fall in the price of oil took a bite of $1.3 billion from Russian exports in the last quarter of 2001 and helped the overall trade surplus to shrink by 14 percent, the customs office said on Wednesday.
Russia's shipments of oil, gas and metals account for almost three quarters of its exports, but prices for crude began to slide last year.
The State Customs Committee said in a statement the $1.3 billion fall in revenues from the export of oil came in the last three months of the year as oil prices fell to $122 a tonne in December from $166 during the January-September period.
The statement did not say if the Committee was using the avarage price for Urals, Russia's main crude oil export blend, or Brent.
Such factors and a rise in imports caused the trade surplus in 2001 to fall by $9.7 billion to $59.5 billion.
Total exports were $100.7 billion, down 2.3 percent, while imports were at $41.2 billion, up 21.7 percent. It said the total trade turnover in 2001 was the highest for 10 years.
It was the first official release of trade data for the whole of last year.
A fall in the surplus due to the rise in imports and lower prices for oil, gas and metals exports had been expected. The central bank also releases trade data and these are expected later this month.
Although revenues from oil fell, the overall value of exports of oil, gas and other energy products remained at 2000 levels as price falls were counter-balanced by rises in volumes.
These goods accounted for 56.2 percent of exports to countries outside the CIS the grouping of former Soviet nations versus 54 percent in 2000. Russia trades most with non-CIS states as Western and Asian markets are more lucrative.
The share of total exports taken up by metals and metal products to non-CIS countries dropped in value in 2001 to 15.3 percent of total exports from 18 percent in 2000.
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