1H06 Foreign Trade Balance In Services Totals USD 1.93 Bln.

In January-June the export of services grew by 22.6% yoy to USD 3.52 bln, while import increased by 20.8% yoy to reach USD 1.59 bln. Alexander Viktorov: The main driver for this year’s export growth was the 31.4% yoy increase in pipeline transportation services due to the transportation tariff increase earlier this year. The positive trade balance in services off-set, to some extent, the negative foreign trade balance in goods (USD 2.92 bln), however, Ukraine still had a negative total foreign trade balance  in 1H06  of $98m. Additionally, in June the export of goods reversed its negative trend (5M06 -0.9%) and started to post positive numbers (1H06 2.1%), thanks to the favorable shift in market conditions. We expect Ukraine to end the year with a negative trade balance of USD 1.6 bln.

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