MOSCOW, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Russia's trade surplus fell by 15.7 percent year on year to 161 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months of 2019, the Russian Federal Customs Service said Tuesday.
"The trade balance was positive at 161.1 billion U.S. dollars, which is 29.9 billion U.S. dollars less than in January-November 2018," it said in a statement.
Trade turnover amounted to 609.5 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months, down 3.1 percent year on year.
Exports amounted to 385.2 billion U.S. dollars, down 6.1 percent. Fuel and energy products accounted for 62.6 percent of exports, with an increase in volume of 3.6 percent and a decline in value of 8.6 percent.
Metals, another major export item contributing to the surplus, accounted for 9.0 percent of total exports. Their volume and value declined by 10.4 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively.
Imports totaled 224.2 billion dollars, up 2.3 percent year on year.
