Russia’s foreign trade surplus grew 14.5 percent year-on-year in February to $19.7 billion, Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina said on Thursday.
“Exports amounted to $45 billion in February and imports were $25.3 billion,” Nabiullina said.
Seasonally adjusted gross domestic product growth was up 0.5 percent in February compared to the previous month.
“Year-on-year growth stood at 4.8 percent in February. Seasonally adjusted growth was 0.5 percent, while it was minus 0.1 percent in January,” Nabiullina said on the sidelines of a conference.
The country’s GDP rose by 4.3 percent in the first two months of this year compared with the same period in 2011. The economy grew in February due to higher investment and industrial output growth.
Seasonally adjusted investment grew 1.2 percent in February, and was up 15.4 percent year-on-year in the first two months of 2012. Seasonally adjusted industrial production rose to 1.3 percent in February, and 4.9 percent in January-February.
Last year Russia’s gross domestic product grew by 4.2 percent, the world’s third highest growth rate among leading economies. The government expects it to grow 3.7 percent this year.