BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 30. Kazakhstan’s current account recorded a surplus of $2.4 billion in the first half of 2026, compared with a deficit of $3.6 billion in the same period of 2025, according to the National Bank of Kazakhstan.
Azat Uskenbayev, director of the National Bank’s Balance of Payments Department, said this in a commentary on Kazakhstan’s external sector for the first half of 2026.
“The state of Kazakhstan’s external sector has improved significantly. In the first half of 2026, the current account of the balance of payments recorded a surplus of $2.4 billion, compared with a deficit of $3.6 billion in the same period of 2025. In the second quarter of 2026, the surplus amounted to $3.2 billion. The main factor behind the improvement was a significant strengthening of the trade balance amid faster export growth,” Uskenbayev said.
Exports under the balance of payments increased 27.1% year-on-year to $48.5 billion in the first half of 2026. Positive dynamics were recorded across more than 80% of commodity categories.
The growth in exports was supported by higher global prices for Kazakhstan’s main export commodities, including oil, uranium, metals, ores and grain, according to the National Bank.
Goods imports increased 6.2% to $32.3 billion. The growth was mainly production-oriented, driven by higher purchases of intermediate goods, which rose 13.8%, and investment goods, which increased 7.9%.
At the same time, imports of non-food consumer goods continued to decline, falling 11.2%, mainly due to lower imports of cars, clothing and footwear. The year-on-year decline in this category has continued since the fourth quarter of 2023.
