Balance of Payments: April 2026
19/06/2026 - Press Releases
- In April 2026, the current account deficit decreased year on year, mainly due to improvements in the balance of goods and the secondary income account and, to a lesser extent, the primary income account, which was partly offset by a slight deterioration in the services balance.
- In the January-April 2026 period, the current account deficit increased year on year, due to a deterioration in the secondary and primary income accounts, which was partly offset by an improvement in the goods and services balances.
Current account
In April 2026, the current account deficit decreased by €956.0 million year-on-year and stood at €1.4 billion.
The goods deficit narrowed, as exports grew more than imports. At current prices, exports increased by 36.3% (13.6% at constant prices) and imports by 12.2% (0.8% at constant prices). Specifically, exports of non-oil goods increased by 10.6% at current prices (5.5% at constant prices), while the corresponding imports rose by 3.2% (1.5% at constant prices).
The services surplus recorded a slight decrease, due to a shift from net receipts to net payments in the other services balance, despite an improvement in the transport balance and, to a lesser extent, the travel balance. Compared to April 2025, non-residents’ tourist arrivals and the corresponding receipts grew by 10.6% and 9.5%, respectively.
The deficit in the primary income account narrowed year on year, reflecting mainly a decrease in net payments for interest, dividends and profits. The secondary income account recorded a surplus, against a deficit in April 2025, mainly on the back of net receipts against net payments in the general government sector.[1]
In the January-April 2026 period, the current account deficit increased by €1.0 billion compared to the first four months of 2025 and stood at €8.3 billion. The goods deficit shrank, reflecting a larger increase in exports than in imports. At current prices, exports grew by 12.0% (4.6% at constant prices) and imports by 3.6% (0.1% at constant prices). Specifically, exports of non-oil goods expanded by 5.3% at current prices, while the corresponding imports increased by 5.4% (2.2% and 4.5% at constant prices, respectively).
The surplus in the services balance increased, mainly owing to an improvement in the travel balance, which was offset to some extent by a deterioration in the balances of other services and transport. Compared to the first four months of 2025, non-residents’ tourist arrivals rose by 27.1% and the corresponding receipts by 36.9%.
The deficit in the primary income account increased against the January-April 2025 period, chiefly because net receipts from other primary income almost halved. The surplus in the secondary income account decreased in the same period year on year, mainly as a result of lower net receipts in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.
Capital account
In April 2026, the capital account recorded a surplus of €488.6 million, against a deficit in April 2025, mainly reflecting a rise in net receipts in the general government sector.[2]
In the January-April 2026 period, the capital account surplus shrank against the first four months of 2025 and stood at €358.5 million, mainly due to a drop in net receipts in the general government sector, despite a decrease in net payments to the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.
Combined current and capital account
In April 2026, the deficit in the combined current and capital account (corresponding to the economy’s external financing requirements) shrank year on year and amounted to €900.4 million.
In the January-April 2026 period, the deficit of the combined current and capital account increased year on year and stood at €8.0 billion.
Financial account
In April 2026, direct investment saw net flows of €179.4 million under residents’ external assets and net flows of €803.0 million under residents’ external liabilities.
Under portfolio investment, an increase in residents’ external assets mainly reflects a €206.1 million rise in residents’ holdings of foreign equities and, to a lesser extent, a €28.0 million increase in their holdings of foreign bonds and Treasury bills. A rise in residents’ external liabilities is mainly due to a €1.0 billion increase in non-residents’ holdings of Greek bonds and Treasury bills and, secondarily, a €300.0 million rise in non-residents’ holdings of Greek equities.
Under other investment, an increase in residents’ external assets was mainly attributable to a rise of €370.2 million in loans granted to non-residents by domestic financial institutions and a €309.0 million statistical adjustment related to the issuance of banknotes, despite a €241.8 million drop in their deposit and repo holdings abroad. A decrease in residents’ external liabilities mainly reflects a drop of €452.0 million in non-residents’ deposit and repo holdings in Greece (including the TARGET account) and, to a lesser extent, a decrease in outstanding debt to non-residents[3], which was partly offset by a €309.0 million statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes.
In the January-April 2026 period, direct investment showed a €1.5 billion flow under residents’ external assets and a €4.4 billion flow under residents’ external liabilities, representing non-residents’ direct investment in Greece.
Under portfolio investment, an increase in residents’ external assets is chiefly due to a €2.3 billion rise in residents’ holdings of foreign bonds and Treasury bills and, to a lesser extent, a €892.3 million increase in residents’ holdings of foreign equities. A rise in residents’ external liabilities is chiefly attributable to a €4.9 billion increase in non-residents’ holdings of Greek bonds and Treasury bills, which was partly offset by a €965.0 million drop in non-residents’ holdings of Greek equities.
Under other investment, a rise in residents’ external assets is due to a €1.8 billion increase in loans to non-residents, as well as a €1.4 billion statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes, despite a €1.9 billion decrease in residents’ deposit and repo holdings abroad. An increase in residents’ external liabilities is primarily attributable to a €5.3 billion rise in non-residents’ deposit and repo holdings in Greece (including the TARGET account) and secondarily to a €1.4 billion statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes, which were offset to a degree by a €2.1 billion drop in residents’ outstanding debt to non-residents.
At end-April 2026, Greece’s reserve assets stood at €21.4 billion, compared with €15.8 billion at end-April 2025.
Note: Balance of Payments data for May 2026 will be released on 21 July 2026.
[1] It should be noted that April 2026 saw the disbursement of the seventh tranche from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) grant component, which is recorded under the secondary income account and the capital account.
[2] See previous footnote.
[3] It should be noted that April 2026 saw the disbursement of the sixth tranche from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) loan component, which is recorded under the financial account.