KIEV, March 17 (Reuters) - Ukraine posted a goods trade surplus of $397.8 million in January, its first surplus since August 2005, compared to a deficit of $975.2 million in January 2008, the State Statistics Committee said on Tuesday.
The Committee gave no direct explanation for the change.
But it may reflect a three-week cutoff of imported Russian gas in January owing to a row with Moscow over pricing and payments arrears and a sharp decline in recent months in the value of the hryvnia currency against the dollar. (Reporting by Natalya Zinets, writing by Ron Popeski)