Dynamics of Production and Foreign Trade of Russia

Export and import value indices were synchronous in their decline throughout the past year, 2015. The behavior of exports was naturally shaped by the plunge of prices of raw materials (even though their physical volume remained roughly the same), while the declining value of imports was caused by the shrinkage, by one quarter, of their physical volume and the slight decline of the average dollar prices of inward moving goods, including due to the US dollar's rise against practically all world currencies. In January 2016, the shrinkage of imports and exports continued; more particularly, the plunge of exports was deeper, and the balance of trade hit its record low of the last few years – $8.5bn