Russia adds to trade surplus in January

Russia adds to trade surplus in January

Russia's trade surplus rose from $7.1 billion January 2004 to $9.1 billion in January 2005 on the back of export growth spurred on by the country's drive to extract more oil to capitalize on the skyrocketing prices. Exports rose 25.2% to $13.7 billion in January, while imports increased 21.5% to $4.8 billion. Russia exported 15.9 million tons of crude oil to non-CIS countries in January, Russia's Federal Customs Service said.