Exports of Russian commodities to the US went up one-and-a-half times in the first five months of the current year compared to the same period a year ago, according to statistics released by the US Census Bureau.
Commodity exports from Russia to the US in monetary terms totaled $11.5 billion, with purchases of oil and petrochemicals seeing a substantial growth of 78%. US imports of mineral fuels, oil, and petrochemicals nearly doubled from $3.8 billion to $6.7 billion.
US imports of precious and semiprecious metals and stones grew by nearly 50% from $1.1 billion to $1.6 billion, while purchases of Russian fertilizers increased by 35% to $500 million. Imports of iron and steel jumped up by 25% to $700 million.
Non-resource exports from Russia to the US also saw an increase, with sales of frozen crab growing from $263 million to $395 million. The US also purchased $126 million worth of space rocket engines from Russian state-run producers.
The increase in commodity imports is attributed to the latest price rally in the global commodity markets. Statistics from the US Census Bureau seen by Russian business daily RBK don’t match up with the data tracked by the Federal Customs Service of Russia, which reports that the number of US imports in monetary terms reached $6.1 billion, marking a growth of 26%.
The difference is attributed to contrasting methods of assessment, as Russian customs commonly calculate only direct shipments of Russian produce to the US, while the US Census Bureau includes all the Russian-produced goods entering the country.
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