FALLOUT: Russia’s economy dealt a crushing blow as its current-account surplus collapses by 93%.

The nation posted a current-account surplus of $5.4 billion for the April-June quarter, which marks a 93% plunge from a record $76.7 billion in the same period of 2022, Russia’s central bank data show. That’s also the smallest excess since the third quarter of 2020.

It shows the heavy blow that Western economic sanctions – imposed on Moscow in response to its war on Ukraine – have dealt to the country’s economy, by squeezing its energy exports.

The worsening trade dynamics are also reflected in the plunging fortunes of the ruble. The Russian currency tumbled to a 15-month low of around 94.48 per dollar earlier in July, hit hard by the country’s weakening terms of trade.

Russia has enough resources to get by with a lot less trade, but the damage to the ruble and hard currency reserves make it more expensive to buy sanctioned goods on the black market.