What are trade and payments balances? Trade and payments balances of the country. Balance of payments and trade of the state.

The balance of payments is one of the main tools for macroeconomic analysis and forecasting.

The balance of payments is the ratio of the actual payments made by a given country abroad and the receipts it received from abroad, abroad. certain period time.

Balance of payments data reflects how trade with other countries developed during the reporting period, which directly affects the level of production, employment and consumption, how much income was received from non-residents and how much was paid to them. These data allow us to track the form in which foreign investment was attracted, whether the country's external debt was repaid on time or whether there were arrears and restructuring, and how the central bank eliminated payment imbalances by increasing or decreasing the size of its foreign currency reserves.

The division of the balance of payments into specific accounts, or components, should be based on a number of principles, among which the following should be particularly emphasized:

• · each item of the balance of payments must have its own characteristics, that is, a factor or a combination of factors influencing the volume of one item must differ from the factors affecting other items;
• · the presence of one or another item in the balance of payments should have significance for a group of countries, expressed both in the dynamics of change of this item and in its absolute value. In other words, if any indicator of the balance of payments system is subject to strong fluctuations over a certain period of time for a group of countries, or it occupies a large share in the balance of payments of a group of countries, then it should be highlighted as a separate item;
• · collecting information for accounting by item should not present any particular difficulties for balance of payments compilers (however, this principle is secondary to the first two);
• · the structure of the balance of payments should be such that balance of payments indicators are combined with other statistical systems, for example, the system of national accounts; at the same time, the number of articles should not be excessively numerous, and the articles themselves should be subject to consolidation into higher-level components (so that countries that have not reached a high level of processing statistical information are able to present payment balance with less detail).

Standard balance components can be divided into two main groups

I “Balance of payments for current transactions”:

a) payments and receipts from foreign trade operations, or trade balance;

b) balance of services (international transportation, freight, insurance, etc.) and non-commercial transactions (settlements for technical assistance patents), income and payments on investments;

II “Balance of capital flows (short-term and long-term operations) and loans.”

The balance of capital and credit movements is followed by an item called “Errors and Omissions,” which shows unaccounted movements of short-term capital. Changes in foreign exchange reserves reflect international currency operations central banks related to equalizing the balance of payments and maintaining the exchange rate of the national currency. Foreign trade indicators traditionally occupy important place in the balance of payments. The ratio of the value of exports and imports of goods forms the trade balance. Since a significant part of foreign trade is carried out on credit, there are differences between the figures for trade, payments and receipts actually made during the relevant period.

The economic significance of an asset or trade deficit in relation to a particular country depends on its position in the world economy, the nature of its relations with partners and overall economic policy.

For countries that lag behind the leaders in terms of level economic development, a trade surplus is necessary as a source of foreign currency to pay international obligations under other balance of payments items. For a number of industrialized countries, trade surpluses are used to create a second economy abroad. A passive trade balance is considered undesirable and is usually assessed as a sign of weakness in the country's foreign economic position. This is right for developing countries facing a shortage of foreign exchange earnings. For industrial development countries this may have a different meaning.

Of course, if exports fall due to a fall in demand for the country's goods in other countries, this bad sign. But if a negative balance arises, for example, in the case of an increase in imports of investment goods and growth as a result of domestic production, then in this case the negative balance cannot serve as a basis for negative assessments of the state of the economy. In other words, an asset or trade deficit can only be assessed on the basis of an analysis of the circumstances leading to it.

In conditions planned economy document summarizing foreign economic relations The USSR had a consolidated currency plan. Reports on the implementation of this plan actually served as the country's balance of payments. Currency plan was a closed document. In the conditions of Russia's transition to market economy translation is carried out accounting for international transactions in accordance with internationally accepted standards and rules. Since 1992 Russia's balance of payments is published in the open press.

Russia's balance of payments for 2000 has been developed Central Bank Russian Federation based on banking statistics and information provided by the State Statistics Committee of Russia, the State Customs Committee, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, and other ministries and departments.

In 2000, the balance of payments and trade showed record figures for the economy of the Russian Federation (settlements and payments with non-CIS countries)1

Of the most significant, five records can be named:

Firstly, it was achieved highest level cost Russian exports- almost 91 billion dollars, which is more than a quarter higher than the previous best result of 1996.

Secondly, the trade surplus turned out to be exceptionally high, more than $60 billion, whereas previously the record in 1996 was considered a record. at 25 billion dollars.

Thirdly, almost 46 billion dollars. (against a maximum of $14 billion in 1996), the officially calculated asset on the “Account” increased current operations».

Fourthly, a significant qualitative shift took place: for the first time, Russia’s balance of payments in the analytical version was reduced to a positive balance.

Diagram

For the Russian balance of payments, foreign trade is absolutely decisive, because the trade surplus is in fact the only source of foreign currency flowing into currency market. All other types of foreign economic activity, as a rule, show a negative result (more currency leaves the country than flows in from abroad).

In 2000 the trade balance has highest result(For reference: even in subsequent years, 2001-2002, the trade balance did not exceed this record level; 2001 - 47.9 billion dollars, 2002 - approximately 45.3 billion dollars1), which was facilitated by On the one hand, there is a rapid increase in the value of exports; on the other, there is a fairly modest amount of import value.

A significant trade balance is a gratifying phenomenon, but still it does not give cause for joy (especially looking at these data several years later). Firstly, the achieved result is not based on the action of positive factors, but rather developed as a successful and, perhaps, even an accidental coincidence (as evidenced by the above data from subsequent years). Secondly, changes for the better were concentrated exclusively in the sphere of foreign trade and did not spread to other components of the balance of payments.

According to the State Customs Committee, in 2000, Russian exporters of fuel and energy goods provided over 52% of total exports, and thanks to a sharp increase in oil prices, over 70% of the increase in export value was achieved2, “positive price dynamics also took place in the export of metals, chemical goods, forestry and woodworking industry products”3. At the same time, the share of mineral products in total exports in 2000 rose from 44.4% to 53.4%, while the share of machinery, equipment, and machinery decreased from 11.1% to 8.9%.4

And yet, even with this disappointing analysis of the data, the trade balance appears positive compared to the rest of the balance of payments, because all foreign exchange funds received during international trade “eat up” all other structures.

Diagram 2

For example, the service sector in our country continues to be unprofitable, and in 2000 its level even turned out to be a record ($6.6 billion loss). The leakage of currency through the channels of international services is caused, first of all, by very large expenses in connection with trips of Russian citizens abroad - tourism, for recreation and treatment, for business purposes, etc. free travel abroad with virtually no currency restrictions is, of course, , a significant benefit. However, the problem is that the foreign currency leaving the country is not compensated by the expenses of foreigners coming to Russia.

However, incomparably greater damage to the balance of payments was caused by the leakage of currency in the form of export abroad Russian capital. The passive balance in the section of the movement of private capital in its visible part is estimated at 14.4 billion dollars, and with the addition of omissions and errors - at 24.1 billion dollars. (diagram 1).

Despite all the promises, neither Russian nor foreign capital owners are willing to invest their funds in real Russian economy. The first in 2000 transferred $29 billion abroad, while investments fell to a record low of less than $4.9 billion. And one more important point: such a balance of payments item as “Omissions and errors” has sharply increased. Approximately another 10 billion dollars left Russia unaccounted for. back in 1999 it amounted to 6.4 billion dollars.

Another large item of foreign exchange costs, paid from the active trade balance, is payments to service Russian external debt, which in 2000 reached almost 11 billion dollars, of which the debts of the current federal and local authorities accounted for 9.9 billion. dollars, and for debts former USSR- 1 billion dollars. 7.3 billion dollars were paid to repay the principal debt, and about 3.7 billion dollars were paid to repay interest. 1

Recently, the Bank of Russia has been publishing data on the external debt of the Russian Federation. According to these data, one can observe a decrease in debt, although to a greater extent due to the write-off of part of the debt.

With a positive balance of payments, two processes develop: replenishment of the country’s foreign exchange reserves and strengthening of the national currency. In 2000, foreign exchange reserves were replenished intensively. The total increase reached $16 billion. Ultimately, Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves in absolute value reached a record level of $28 billion.

Urgent tasks national development and economic reforms dictate the need to expand and deepen externally economic ties Russia. These ties should facilitate full use of the advantages of the international division of labor. The course towards the maximum possible use of MRI is intended to lead to the diversification of foreign economic relations.

Russia's economic interests are so complex and diverse that they can be properly ensured only by developing cooperation with a wide variety of states and groups of countries. Foreign economic relations. Russia with developing countries appear as a necessary link in the mechanism of its external relations with countries of the world. Moreover, the potential of Russian trade and economic relations with many developing countries is largely unclaimed.

Extension economic cooperation Russia and developing countries are closely connected with the strengthening and development of the export sector based on the diversification and improvement of its structure. World experience shows that the real directions of each country's participation in the international division of labor are formed only through export orientation. At the same time, the country’s export orientation contributes to the creation and support, first of all, of those industries and structures that already have comparative advantages or may acquire them later. And this, in turn, contributes to a more complete and effective use national economic resources.

The existing complementarity of the economies of Russia and a number of developing countries, the relatively low demands of their markets, mutual interests and other factors turn these countries in many respects into the most likely consumers of Russian products. In turn, many developing countries consider trade exchange with Russia as additional and alternative source in trade and economic relations with the West.

According to Russian experts, it is the market of developing countries that can become the basis for increasing, improving the structure and diversifying of Russian exports, both in terms of expanding the geography of exports and its actual product execution.

The most favorable prospects for expanding Russian exports are in the group of “new industrial countries" At the same time, it is possible to increase both the export of raw materials and finished products. The potential opportunities for exporting Russian manufacturing products, including machinery and equipment, to developing countries are especially great. Indirect confirmation can be a significant increase in demand for all types of raw materials and finished products in developing countries. Their total purchases on the world market in the 70-80s increased 10 times for raw materials, and more than 10 times for industrial products. Imports of machinery and equipment grew at an even faster rate.

An important direction of Russian exports to developing countries should be the export of high-tech complete equipment and related services, licenses, scientific ideas for their joint practical implementation, etc. This direction of Russian exports should be focused on “newly industrialized countries.” Since the mid-90s, Russia has been intensifying the processes of technical assistance to developing countries. The bulk of the work occurred in China, Iran, India, Morocco, and Cuba. A number of energy, metallurgical and other industrial facilities have been put into operation in these countries.

The traditional direction of Russian exports to developing countries should remain the supply of weapons and military equipment. Russia's withdrawal from this market can only benefit its competitors in the international arms market from industrialized countries.

In the 80s, the volume of exports of Soviet weapons formally reached 15-20 billion dollars. However, in reality about 2 billion dollars went to the treasury. In the mid-90s, Russia received up to 3 billion dollars from the export of weapons and military equipment. (1.1 billion dollars more than in the early 90s). For comparison: the volume of arms exports from the United States is approximately $10 billion per year.

An important role in increasing Russian exports to developing countries for all product groups, but primarily for industrial products, should be played by investments aimed at the creation and development of production facilities focused on local markets, as well as for export to third countries. Apparently, those gaining strength in last years Russian financial and industrial groups. It is important to point out the regional focus Russian investments: first of all they should be directed to the so-called poles economic growth, to zones with a favorable investment climate (export-production zones, various kinds of free economic zones).

Focusing on export expansion to developing countries, one should not forget that there are significant opportunities for expanding imports of raw materials, food, consumer goods, equipment and technology and, of course, capital.

Problems associated with imports from developing countries are being solved in ways that have long been implemented industrially developed countries. First of all, increasing the production of the products we need by creating our own or joint ventures with the participation of local capital. The second way is to rationalize imports by switching them from countries that have a positive trade balance with Russia to countries that have a negative balance.

The experience of the 90s shows that in developing countries, primarily in NIS, it is possible to purchase a wide range of industrial products: clothing, shoes, consumer goods, electronics, etc. In addition, it is NIS of Southeast Asia that can be considered as an important source of future capital flows into the Russian economy. The Asia-Pacific region is home to 60 percent of the world's investment potential. But the share of Asian investments was only 1.5 percent of the total volume of capital investments in Russia.

Asian bankers have been eyeing Russian opportunities for a long time. Members of the Association of Asian Banks expressed interest in 20 investment projects in Russia, in particular, in the oil refining, forestry and energy industries. If things are going well, the dynamics of growth capital investments will be increasing annually.

Bi- and multilateral scientific and production cooperation should play a significant role in expanding economic ties with developing countries, in the process of which material prerequisites are created for increasing Russian production and export. Such cooperation is preferable with a group of “newly industrialized countries”, Gulf countries, China, etc.

An important factor in the development of economic cooperation with developing countries is their external debt The USSR, inherited by Russia, exceeds, by some estimates, $130 billion. Realizing the practical impossibility of repaying a significant part of this debt either in the near or long term, it is necessary to find suitable compromises to repay this debt with goods, services, and various kinds of concessions from developing countries .

To mobilize opportunities and develop the existing potential of economic relations with developing countries, a scientifically based strategic line is needed, supported by specific practical steps for its implementation.

Topic 8. Trade, payments and settlement balances of the country

8.1. Trade balance.

8.2. Payment balance.

8.3. Settlement balance.

The mutual supply and demand for goods and services existing between countries is taken into account externally in the current account trading operations each of the countries. This is the so-called trade balance of a country, where merchandise exports balance with merchandise imports. If, for example, a country exports less than it imports, then it will develop a foreign trade deficit and, on the contrary, if it exports more, then the balance of this balance will be positive. Usually to balance the deficit current account(trade balance) of the country, the government resorts to various measures to limit imports (establishing higher tariffs, import quotas, regulating exchange transactions, etc.).

Trade balance is an integral part of the balance of payments and in this regard, it, the balance of payments, more fully reflects international payments, their generalization and quantitative expression, showing the ratio of actual payments made by the country to other states and receipts received from abroad.

A country's balance of payments is a systematic record of all the economic transactions its residents have with the rest of the world over a specified period of time - usually calendar year. Some countries conduct them quarterly. His information is needed, first of all, by the government to form currency, trade, fiscal policy, as well as economic. This data is necessary for both banks and legal entities, and the huge mass of the population, since they ultimately determine the exchange rate exchange rate countries. This reflects the total international commodity and financial flows.

It can be stated that payment balance - a document reflecting all transactions with in cash, which mediate (serve) the country’s foreign economic relations. Accounting for payments for all foreign economic transactions is carried out according to the principle of double-entry bookkeeping. For example, money entering the country through exports is recorded with a plus sign, and money leaving the country (imports) is recorded with a minus sign - this is an expense. The difference between income and expenses on foreign economic transactions is the “balance” of the balance of payments and, if it is a minus, then a deficit is formed, which can negatively affect the stability of the exchange rate of the country’s national currency.

The balance of payments consists of three major sections:

Current account;

Capital account;

Calculation based on official international reserves.

In addition to exports and imports, the current account balance reflects unilateral one-time payments. This section also reflects all services (intourism, maintenance of military bases abroad, Money transfers, transfer of inheritance, etc.).

The capital flow balance reflects the purchase and sale of foreign assets, the provision and receipt of investments, loans, etc. In other words, it reflects the ebb and flow of capital or the movement of factors of production, which complements and replaces international trade. Inflow capital occurs in the form of an increase in foreign assets, or a decrease in the country's foreign assets. So, if the American president buys Ukrainian securities (GKOs - State Treasury Obligations), then Ukraine's foreign assets will increase, and the amount will be recorded with a plus sign, and, on the contrary, the sale of foreign valuable papers(decrease in Ukrainian assets abroad) is perceived as an outflow of capital, ᴛ.ᴇ. with a minus sign.

Foreign exchange transactions are also divided into current transactions and transactions related to the movement of capital.

Current foreign exchange transactions include:

Transactions for the purchase and sale of currency, valuable goods and services, settlements for which exercise intellectual property rights;

Transfers of funds abroad and from abroad, interest, dividends and other income from bank deposits, loans, investments and others financial transactions;

Transfers of non-trade funds (salaries, pensions, alimony, inheritance, etc.);

Receiving and providing commercial and financial loans for a period of no more than 180 days (short-term).

Foreign exchange transactions related to capital movements include:

Investments (including the purchase and sale of securities);

Providing and receiving commercial and financial loans (long-term for a period of more than 180 days);

Raising and placing funds into accounts and deposits;

All other currency transactions that are not current.

If foreign exchange receipts exceed payments, then the balance of payments is active, and if payments are greater than receipts, then it is passive, ᴛ.ᴇ. scarce. The frequency of this balance is year, quarter, month, and also for a certain date.

In general, the balance of payments is the main statistical document reflecting a country's foreign economic transactions and has important consequences for its economy. For example, significant fluctuations in the current account balance (in one direction or the other) are undesirable, because a sharp increase in the surplus leads to rapid growth money supply and thereby violates the law of monetary circulation, and a sharp increase in the negative balance can cause a collapse in the exchange rate of the national currency, as well as chaos in foreign economic transactions. In this regard, each state regulates the balance of payments at the expense of official reserves, ᴛ.ᴇ. third section of the balance of payments. It is in this regard that the country's central banks must have a certain amount of foreign currency (FCC), which is called official reserves. They are used to resolve imbalances in the balance of payments. This means that all three parts that make up the balance of payments must be equal to zero. The official reserves of any country are limited and, in connection with this, stable and long-term balance of payments deficits inevitably lead to their depletion and, ultimately, to a depreciation of the national currency - to the so-called devaluation. In order to prevent this, loans and the import of entrepreneurial capital are traditionally used ( foreign investment). But this is a temporary method of balancing the balance of payments, because... debtor countries are obliged to pay interest and dividends, and then repay the loan.

Today, a new way to cover the deficit passive balance become short-term loans under “swap” agreements, mutually provided central banks V national currency to other countries. To cover temporary balance of payments deficits, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provides fund member countries with reserve (unconditional) loans within 25% of the country's quota. These same temporary methods of covering the balance of payments deficit include preferential loans received by the country through foreign aid. And industrially developed countries in this case mobilize funds on the global financial market in the form of loans from banking consortia, bond issues, etc.

Settlement balance- ϶ᴛᴏ the ratio of claims and obligations of a given country in relation to other countries, regardless of the timing of payments.

Main Differences between the current and payments balances as follows:

The settlement balance includes claims and liabilities, incl. and previously outstanding, and the balance of payments reflects only the actual receipts and payments made for a certain period;

The settlement balance includes all loans received and provided, including outstanding ones, ᴛ.ᴇ. not included in the balance of payments;

Closing balance, active or passive, the current and payment balances as a result of the above do not coincide.

To assess the international settlement position of a country, its settlement balance is very important, which reflects the main thing: whether the country is a creditor or debtor. IN international practice widely used for these purposes international debt balance , which is based on statistical data.

Example of a balance of payments (figures are notional):

International Monetary Fund in order to streamline and unify the grouping of balances of payments different countries a classification of balance of payments items is proposed. The Balance of Payments Manual was published in the 1950s and is used by all IMF member countries.

Topic 8. Trade, payment and settlement balances of the country - concept and types. Classification and features of the category “Topic 8. Trade, payment and settlement balances of the country” 2017, 2018.

3.8.3. Trade and payments balance of the country

Payment balance - summary statistical balance of transactions concluded during this year between individuals, firms, government departments of one country with the same representatives of another. A document that reflects all foreign economic activities of a country for a certain period (usually a year) of time.

Principles of compilation:

Reflects the flow of goods and services and capital;

Carried out on the principle of double entry bookkeeping; money that comes from exports comes with a “+” sign - this is income, and money that comes from imports comes with a “-” sign - credit and debit.

The difference between income and expenses is called balance of payments.

If exports exceed imports, then the balance is positive, and if imports exceed exports, then the country spends more money abroad - this is a negative balance - it negatively affects the stability of the currency exchange rate.

Balance sheet structure.

1. Calculations for current transactions:

Commodity export;

Commodity import;

foreign trade balance.

Export of services;

Import of services;

balance of trade in services.

Net income from investment;

Pure one-way money transfers.

Balance for section 1.

2. Movement of capital.

Export of capital;

Import of capital.

Capital flow balance

Balance on current transactions of sections 1 and 2.

3. Official reserves.

Regulating part

The part of the balance of payments that reflects imports and exports of goods and services is called trade balance.

If exports exceed imports, then the trade balance is considered positive or active. If imports exceed exports, then they are called negative or passive.

Section 3 highlights operations not related to commercial activities. They serve as a means of balancing the balance of payments. Part 3 is regulatory.

All three components of the balance sheet must add up to zero. The decline in official reserves shows the scale of the balance of payments deficit. The growth of official reserves shows the size of the active balance of the balance of payments.

Payment balance is the main statistical document reflecting the country's foreign economic operations and its condition has important consequences for the economy. For example, strong fluctuations in the balance of current transactions in section 1 are undesirable. This leads to an increase in the money supply and stimulates inflation.

The task of balancing the balance of international payments is one of the main goals of the state's economic policy. State regulation of the balance of payments is a set of foreign exchange, financial, and monetary measures aimed at forming the main items of the balance of payments.

The state can adjust the balance of payments:

Manipulating reserves;

By pursuing trade policies that restrict imports (demand for currency) and encourage exports (supply of currency);

Introducing foreign exchange controls;

By pursuing appropriate tax and monetary policies.

It is important to know the difference between trade and payment balances in order to successfully make money on Forex. What are the specifics of each of them, and what circumstances in the economy influence them?

TOP 3 Forex brokers in the world:

Why do you need to track the import and export of capital:

1. To assess the extent to which the state participates in the exchange of goods, services, and so on.
2. To reflect the state of trade between countries.

For these reasons, the import and export of capital is of interest to economists and traders.

Interesting! Often, not only the condition depends on this value state economy, but also state policy, that is, this factor has big influence on asset prices.

Trade balance values ​​are also important for the economy; they reflect the state of imported and exported products (exports and imports). The value is positive if the state exports more than it imports. If imports are greater than exports, then the value is negative. For this reason, changes in exports and imports are directly related to changes in domestic production.

How states deal with the active value of imports and exports (deficit):

• through interest on foreign investments;
• due to capital inflows from foreign creditors;
• uses the reserve currency of another state.

In addition to this, the state can import gold.

The main difference between the balance of trade and balance of payments is that the former takes into account the quantity commodity exchange– what volume of goods actually crosses the border, and so on. The second type takes into account how many payments and for what amount were made between countries.

The total amount of all financial transactions is reflected in the balance of payments, one part of which is the trade balance and reflects the exchange of goods:

• export;
• import.

Sometimes these data do not fully correlate with the movement of the product itself.

Along with the trade balance, the balance of payments also contains the following components:

• foreign loans (and interest on them);
• exchange financial assets;
• profit from investments;
• redistribution of funds from the budget (transfer payments).

An agreement concluded on any of the points is a payment that comes from or to the state. Sales of assets in the balance of payments are similar to exports, so they have a positive sign, and purchases of assets have a negative sign, since they require costs in foreign currency.

Each international transaction concluded is recorded in the payment accounting system 2 times – as a debit and a credit. This is explained by the fact that any agreement is considered from 2 sides: when the state acquires something, it pays for it. Therefore, the report reflects the names of the goods and the purchase made.

The report reflects the receipt of goods on the debit side and the debt for it on the credit side of the balance sheet.

The agreement, as a result of which the country pays with a foreign monetary unit, is entered into the report with a positive sign and reflects the receipt of goods or other assets - called a debit. If currency comes to the state as a result of a transaction, it is marked with a negative sign and is considered a loan - an advance payment for the upcoming shipment of goods.

For reference! Most often, they pay for the import of goods in a foreign currency; if the goods are exported, then the debt for it is a debit.

Debtors are those who owe us for goods shipped. Creditors are those to whom we owe money for goods received.

What affects balances?

Circumstances that could change indicators concern not only the economy individual country, but also throughout the world economic system. The importance of the import and export of capital is affected by a large number of factors.

What are these circumstances?

1. Economic fluctuations (foreign economic transactions depend on the state of production and the economy).
2. Defense spending (the share of military spending affects how much money is spent on production).
3. Strengthening international financial interdependence (the crisis in the United States is felt by other countries).
4. Increase government spending outside the state.
5. Changes in interstate trade (rising oil prices caused a shortage of capital imports and exports in some countries).
6. Instability of the world monetary system.
7. Natural disaster, crop failure and so on.
8. Low demand for national products (negative impact of inflation).

In addition, competition between countries also influences this. For example, the US balance of payments and trade balances increased after World War II, when there was a significant lag in the economic development of Japan and European countries.

Interesting! The balance of payments of the Russian Federation often had a passive value due to the fact that the surplus in foreign trade operations was contrasted with large debt obligations to other states.

The values ​​of import and export of goods are mainly influenced by circumstances related to the cost of products, and so on.

What reasons can change these indicators:

1. The exchange rate of the state currency (weakening encourages more attention to be paid to exporting, and strengthening to importing).
2. The value of the purchase price.
3. To what extent is free currency conversion possible for the import of goods?
4. Standards for products accepted in the country.
5. The number of state duties on import and export.

In addition, the export and import of products is influenced by the cost at which the goods are purchased within the country.

Why are both of these balances important in the Forex market?

The import and export of capital directly affects the exchange rate of the state currency. For example, the balance provokes the growth of the currency if the demand for it increases foreign investors. The passive state of the number of transactions leads to a depreciation of the exchange rate, as even domestic investors are trying to get rid of the weak monetary unit. Inflow and outflow level foreign capital affects the currency - if there is a lot of foreign currency, then the national currency unit will weaken.

The trade balance is not the main factor influencing the currency market, since its report is usually delayed by 2 months. And then, import and export of products are more related to real trading commodity, which is not typical for the Forex market.

A country's balance of payments is an accounting of the country's trade and financial transactions with other countries of the world for a certain period (year, quarter, month)

The balance of payments consists of two sections - receipts and payments. If receipts exceed payments, then the balance of payments is active (there is a positive balance), otherwise it is passive.

The balance of payments reflects the true picture characterizing the real effect or loss of foreign trade. The information contained in the balance of payments makes it possible to assess the volume and quality of a country's participation in the international exchange of goods, services and capital. Therefore, problems of the balance of payments, surplus or deficit, are of great public interest and affect political decision-making.

The basis of the balance of payments is the trade balance. The trade (foreign trade) balance characterizes the export and import of goods. The trade balance is positive if a country exports more goods and services than it imports from abroad. In this case, the trade balance has a surplus. If imports are greater than exports, then the trade balance is negative or in deficit. Therefore, changes in the current account balance are associated with changes in domestic output and employment.

The balance of trade is built on the basis of customs statistics, which takes into account the volume of goods actually crossing the border, while the balance of payments takes into account payments and receipts during foreign trade turnover, which may not coincide in time with the movement of goods.

The balance of payments, in addition to trade, includes foreign loans, interest on them, investment income, transfer payments and exchange of financial assets. This balance is called the capital account balance. Transactions under each of these items represent payments flowing either into or out of the country. The purchase of assets (value inflow) requires the expenditure of foreign currency (just like regular imports of goods), so it takes a negative sign in the capital account. Sales of assets (outflow of value) are similar to exports in the trade balance, so they appear with a plus sign in the capital account.

Each international transaction is reported twice in the balance of payments: as a credit and as a debit. This is explained by the fact that every transaction has two sides: if a country buys something from foreign countries, then it pays for it. Consequently, a country's balance of payments reflects both the flow of goods and the flow of payments for them.

Credit is an outflow of values ​​from a country, which must be followed by payments to that country.

A debit is an influx of value into a country for which residents of that country must pay.

The general rule for accounting for international transactions is as follows: a transaction in which a country receives foreign currency is called a credit and is entered in the balance of payments with a plus sign, and a transaction in which a country spends foreign currency is called a debit and is entered in the balance of payments with a minus sign. Exports are usually paid for in foreign currency, hence it is a loan. You have to pay for imports foreign currency, therefore, it is a debit.

The state of the balance of payments and trade is influenced by both external and internal factors. This may include: the impact of cyclical factors, price dynamics, in particular the dynamics of current world prices for raw materials, exchange rate changes, growth or decline domestic demand on consumer and investment goods, foreign economic policies of states aimed at increasing or curbing exports or imports.

Russia’s balance of payments quite often remained passive: active balance By foreign trade, which depended primarily on the situation on the world energy market, was opposed by much more significant payments and obligations for international services, repayment of foreign currency debt, import of cash dollar bills, to which was added the legal and especially illegal outflow of capital abroad. The difference had to be covered with new ones. external borrowings, which is why Russia is among the world's largest debtors.

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