Russia’s current account surplus hit a record high in 2022, the central bank said on Tuesday, as a fall in imports and robust oil and gas exports kept foreign money flowing in despite Western efforts to isolate the Russian economy.
Russia’s current account—a measure of the difference between all money coming into a country through trade, investment, and transfers, and what flows back out—came in at $227.4 billion, up 86 percent from 2021.
Russian imports fell sharply last year amid an exodus of Western firms after the West imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
But the Kremlin has sought to replace revenues lost from its oil and gas exports to Europe with a pivot to China, India, and other Asian countries….