MOSCOW, October 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russia saw a net capital outflow of around $18 billion in the first two weeks of October, continuing the trend of the past few months amid the financial crisis, a government source said.

While Russia experienced net capital inflow of $40.7 billion in second quarter, the trend was reversed in the third quarter, with a net outflow of $16.7 billion in July-September.

The source told RIA Novosti: "The net outflow of capital in the first two weeks of October was around $18 billion. According to preliminary estimates, it is between $15 billion and $20 billion."

The final figure for October will depend on import data from the Customs Service. The source noted that imports are heavily dependent on loans.

The Central Bank earlier said the outflow in the past few months is due to the crisis in the global economy, as well as the falling oil price, and warned that if the trend continues, the balance of payments is likely to weaken.