Russia goods trade balance (12 months)

## What this measures

This measures Russia's net exports of goods to the world over the trailing twelve months, expressed in US dollars. It is the difference between the value of merchandise shipped out and the value brought in.

## Background

Russia's goods trade balance with the world, trailing 12 months, $ billions — the commodity-export surplus that funds its war.

Σ12 of the monthly merchandise trade balance from the OECD's International Merchandise Trade Statistics (FRED XTNTVA01RUM667S, US dollars, seasonally adjusted) ÷ 1e9. Computed monthly by /api/cron/fred-composites.

## Why it matters

A large positive balance reflects Russia's dependence on commodity exports, oil, gas, metals, to earn foreign currency. That surplus finances government spending, including military operations, and signals the effectiveness of trade restrictions or sanctions. Shifts in the balance can precede changes in exchange rates, inflation and fiscal capacity.

## How to read it

A rising value means Russia is earning more net foreign currency from trade; a falling value means the surplus is shrinking. Compare the level to historical peaks and troughs to assess whether the current surplus is unusually high or low. Month-to-month moves are smoothed by the twelve-month window.

## What it does not say

This does not show the composition of exports or imports, the volume of goods moved, or trade flows with any single country. It does not capture services trade or financial flows.

## Source

Palanor pulls the OECD's seasonally adjusted monthly merchandise trade balance for Russia from the FRED API each night, then sums the trailing twelve months and converts to billions of dollars.