ALMATY (TCA) — The deficit of the balance of payments of Kazakhstan for 2015 is preliminarily estimated at US $5.3 billion compared to a surplus of $6 billion in 2014. The reason is the country’s decreasing exports, Novosti-Kazakhstan news agency reported with reference to the country’s National Bank.
According to the National Bank, last year Kazakhstan’s trade balance was positive, with exports exceeding imports by US $12.6 billion, a decrease of 65.6 percent compared to 2014 ($36.7 billion).
Last year Kazakhstan exported goods worth US $46.2 billion, a decrease of 42.4 percent compared to 2014 ($80.3 billion).
Low oil prices were the main reason behind decreasing export revenues of Kazakhstan. “The value of oil and gas condensate exports reduced two-fold and amounted to US $26.8 billion. The export of other goods decreased by 27 percent,” the National Bank said.
Kazakhstan’s imports last year fell by 22.9 percent and amounted to US $33.6 billion, compared to $43.6 billion in 2014.
The National Bank also said that in 2015 the real value of the Kazakh national currency, the tenge, reduced by 29.9 percent.
During the last year, the tenge weakened to the Russian ruble by 29.3 percent.
Last year the tenge weakened to the US dollar by 36.5 percent, and from the beginning of 2014 to the end of 2015, the weakening was 42.6 percent, the National Bank said.
