Kazakhstan's current account swings to $2.4 billion surplus in first halfKazakhstan's current account posted a $2.4 billion surplus in the first half of 2026, compared with a $3.6 billion deficit a year earlier, said Azat Uskenbayev, director of the National Bank's balance of payments department."The main driver of the improvement was a substantial strengthening of the trade balance on the back of faster export growth," Uskenbayev said in comments distributed by the National Bank's press service Wednesday.Goods exports rose 27.1% year-on-year to $48.5 billion in January-June, with gains in more than 80% of commodity categories, according to the National Bank. The increase was driven in part by higher world prices for oil, uranium, metals, ores and grain.Goods imports rose 6.2% to $32.3 billion, led by intermediate goods, up 13.8%, and investment goods, up 7.9%, used for projects and production capacity development.Imports of non-food consumer goods fell 11.2%, mainly on lower purchases of cars, clothing and footwear. That trend has held year-on-year since the fourth quarter of 2023.Uskenbayev said Kazakhstan's international investment position, the gap between the country's external assets and its liabilities to nonresidents, also improved. The negative net position narrowed to 11.3% of GDP, or $37.5 billion, by the end of the first half of 2026, from 42.1% in 2020.Public sector external assets, including the National Bank's international reserves, stood at about $130.8 billion, or 39.4% of GDP, as of July 1, 2026. State external liabilities were estimated at $18.6 billion, or 5.6% of GDP.Public sector external assets thus exceeded liabilities by $112.2 billion, equal to 33.8% of GDP.Kazakhstan's external debt, despite a slight rise in absolute terms, continued to shrink relative to the size of the economy. Its ratio to GDP fell 3.3 percentage points since the start of 2026, to 56.6%. In 2016, the ratio stood at 119.1%.A significant share of the external debt is intercompany debt tied to long-term financing of the economy by foreign direct investors, the National Bank said. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX