MOSCOW, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Russia's trade surplus fell by 11 percent year on year to 133.3 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months of the year, the Russian Federal Customs Service said Monday.
"The trade balance was positive at 133.3 billion U.S. dollars, which is 16.4 billion U.S. dollars less than in January-September 2018," it said in a statement.
Trade turnover amounted to 489.4 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months, down 2.9 percent year on year.
Exports amounted to 311.4 billion U.S. dollars, down 4.8 percent. Fuel and energy products accounted for 63.4 percent of the exports, with an increase in volume of 3.0 percent and a decline in value of 6.6 percent.
Metals, another major export item contributing to the surplus, accounted for 9.3 percent of total exports. Their volume and value declined by 9.4 percent and 11.6 percent respectively.
Imports were worth 178.0 billion dollars, down 0.5 percent year on year.
