Kazakhstan’s economy comes out of first half of 2021 with positive trade balance, National Bank says

The economy of Kazakhstan came out of the first half of 2021 with a positive trade balance. Exports increased by more than 3 percent, reaching almost US$27 billion. Imports are growing more actively: the amount of purchased products totaled US$17.5 billion, more than a quarter are consumer goods. In general, the trade surplus amounted to US$9.4 billion. According to financial analyst Andrei Chebotaryov, this is a positive factor for the national currency.

“This is good news. A trade surplus means more currency flows into a country than leaves it. The economy is recovering, we are starting to trade more actively with the outside world. The pressure that has been exerted on the exchange rate of the national currency is also decreasing. With this background, tenge may strengthen slightly,” Chebotaryov noted.

Translation by Saniya Sakenova

Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova