Merchandise external trade balance deficit rises 81% y-o-y in 8M11

Ukraine’s merchandise external trade balance deficit came to USD 8.1 bln or +81.4% y-o-y in 8M11, according data released by the State Statistic Committee yesterday. Merchandise exports rose by 39.4% y-o-y to USD 44.0 bln (vs. +42.5% in 1H11), while imports grew by 44.6% y-o-y to USD 52.1 bln (vs. +50.8% y-o-y in 1H11). In 8M11, the import/export coverage ratio was 0.84 vs. 0.88 in 8H10.  The highest share of exports came from metallurgy – 32.7%, minerals – 14.9%, machinery – 9.6% and chemicals – 7.6%. The most imported goods were minerals (gas, oil, etc) – 37.2%, machinery – 14.6%, chemicals – 9.8% and automobiles – 7.2%. Svetlana Rekrut: Merchandise trade balance growth is attributed to increased purchases of mineral products (natural gas, oil), whose share in total imports has grown by 3.4% y-o-y and is related to increased Russian gas purchases. Another reason is considerable growth in automobile imports, +80.4% y-o-y.