Russia's trade surplus jumps 42.6 pct in first five months

MOSCOW, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Russia's trade surplus surged 42.6 percent year-on-year to 81.4 billion U.S. dollars in the first five months this year, the Russian Federal Customs Service said Monday.

Russia's trade turnover amounted to 273 billion U.S. dollars in the January-May period, up 23.3 percent from the same period last year, the agency said in a statement.

Fuel and energy products accounted for 63.9 percent of the Russian exports. The volume of such products increased by 5.2 percent and their value grew by 27.8 percent.

Global oil prices have been recovering over the past few months due to the output cut by major oil producing countries and concerns about rising geopolitical risks.