Moldova in the first half of 2022, compared to the same period of 2021, increased imports of energy and electricity in value terms by 2.8 times - up to $1 billion 077.61 million.
These are the data of the Balance of Payments of the country for January-June 2022, published by the National Bank of Moldova (NBM). Particularly, energy and electricity imports in the first quarter of 2022 were $535.92 million in monetary terms and in the second quarter of 2022 - $541.69 million while in the same period last year they were $192.03 million and $188.73 million respectively. As noted by the National Bank, under the emergency situation in Ukraine and as a result of sanctions imposed on Russia, world fuel prices this year have risen rapidly. The shock from the growth in energy prices was also felt in Moldova, and the cost of energy sources imports increased in the second quarter of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, 2.9 times - from $188.73 million to $541.69 million. According to the NBM, this evolution was mainly due to an increase in the cost of diesel fuel imports, which increased 3.3 times - from $92.5 million to $301.68 million, and in physical volume, diesel fuel imports increased by 55.7%. The cost of gasoline imports also increased significantly - 3 times - from $28.93 million to $87.33 million, the physical volume of its imports in the II quarter of this year increased by 68.4%, compared to the same period of the previous year. A 2.3-fold increase (from $42.48 million to $99.48 million) in the cost of natural gas imports as a result of an increase in gas prices also had a significant impact on the import of energy products, while the physical volume of its supplies decreased by 44.2%. In the second quarter of 2022, the cost of imported electricity amounted to $11.24 million, which is 3.2 times higher compared to the second quarter of 2021, and the physical volume of its imports almost doubled compared to the same period of the previous year. The cost of coal imports in the II quarter of this year increased by 45.3% - from $3.22 million to $4.68 million, while the physical volume of its imports decreased. In general, in the first half of 2022, compared to the same period last year, imports of diesel fuel to Moldova in monetary terms increased 2.6 times - from $174.99 million to $455.9 million, natural gas - 3.6 times - from $112.35 million to $407.9 million, gasoline - 2.6 times - from $52.19 million to $133.85 million, electricity - 3.2 times - from $3.56 million to $11.24 million, coal - 1.9 times - from $4.41 million to $8.2 million. As follows from the NBM data, imports of energy resources under the "Other" section in January-June 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, grew more than 1.8 times - from $33.26 million to $60.52 million.// 19.10.2022- InfoMarket.
