KIEV, Aug. 1 - Ukraine's balance of payments for the second quarter of this year closed with a surplus of $679 million, which was 39% down on the $1.109 billion posted in the first quarter and 87% down on the $5.1 billion seen in April-June 2010, the National Bank of Ukraine reported.

The surplus of the balance of payments in the first half of 2011 came to $1.788 billion, which was a year-over-year decrease of 60%, from $4.427 billion for the same period of 2010.