Balance of Payments: July 2026
21/09/2026 - Press Releases
- In July 2026, the current account surplus decreased year on year, owing to a deterioration in the primary and secondary income and goods balances, while the services balance improved.
- In January-July 2026, the current account deficit increased year on year. This is attributed mainly to a deterioration in the secondary income account and, to a lesser extent, in the primary income account, while it was restrained partly by improvements primarily in the goods balance and secondarily in the services balance.
Current account
In July 2026, the current account surplus declined significantly year on year and stood at €218.5 million, despite the improvement recorded in the combined goods and services balance.
The goods deficit widened, as imports increased more than exports in absolute terms. At current prices, exports of goods rose by 16.1% (0.5% at constant prices), while imports of goods increased by 12.8% (4.6% at constant prices). In particular, non-oil goods exports at current prices grew by 9.4% (1.2% at constant prices) and the corresponding imports rose by 1.9% (stable at constant prices).
The services surplus increased, owing almost exclusively to an improvement in the travel balance, while small improvements were also recorded in the transport and other services balances. Compared with July 2025, non-residents’ arrivals dropped by 3.1% and the relevant receipts rose by 7.2%.
The primary income deficit widened year on year mainly as a result of a rise in net interest, dividend and profit payments. The secondary income deficit increased year on year, due to higher net payments mainly in the general government sector and, to a lesser extent, in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.
In January-July 2026, the current account deficit increased by roughly €1.5 billion year on year and stood at €9.3 billion. However, the combined goods and services balance improved.
The goods deficit narrowed, as exports grew faster than imports. At current prices, the exports of goods increased by 16.1% (4.9% at constant prices) and the imports of goods by 5.8% (0.6% at constant prices). In particular, non-oil goods exports at current prices increased by 8.1% and the corresponding imports by 3.7% (3.3% and 2.5% at constant prices, respectively).
The services surplus widened, reflecting an improvement in the balance of travel services, which was partly offset by a deterioration mainly in the other services balance and to a lesser extent in the transport balance. Compared with the first half of 2025, non-residents’ arrivals rose by 8.6% and the relevant receipts by 12.0%.
The primary income deficit increased year on year, reflecting mostly a reduction by about half in net receipts under other primary income, which was partly offset by the decrease in net interest, dividend and profit payments. The secondary income balance recorded a deficit against a surplus in the corresponding period of 2025, mainly due to lower net receipts in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government and, to a lesser extent, higher general government net payments.
Capital account
In July 2026, the capital account surplus almost halved year on year and stood at €37.1 million, reflecting lower net receipts in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.
In January-July 2026, the capital account surplus narrowed year on year owing to lower general government net receipts.
Combined current and capital account
In July 2026, the combined current and capital account surplus (which corresponds to the economy’s external financing needs) declined significantly year on year and stood at €255.6 million.
In January-July 2026, the combined current and capital account deficit increased year on year and stood at €9.0 billion.
Financial account
In July 2026, direct investment saw net flows of €166.5 million under residents’ external assets and net flows of €768.4 million under residents’ external liabilities, representing non-residents’ direct investment in Greece.
Under portfolio investment, a decline in residents’ external assets was mainly attributable to a drop of €2.5 billion in their holdings of foreign bonds and Treasury bills, despite a €159.3 million rise in residents’ holdings of foreign equities. The rise in their liabilities was mainly attributable to a €1.3 billion increase in non-residents’ holdings of domestic equities, which was partly offset by a €389.0 million decline in non-residents’ holdings of Greek bonds and Treasury bills.
Under other investment, residents’ external assets rose slightly, mainly due to a €530.0 million statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes, which was almost entirely offset by a €492.0 million reduction in residents’ deposit and repo holdings abroad. A fall in residents’ liabilities was driven primarily by a €4.5 billion drop in non-residents’ deposits and repos in Greece (including balances in the TARGET account), which was partly offset by a €530.0 million statistical adjustment related to the issuance of banknotes.
In January-July 2026, direct investment showed a €2.0 billion net flow under residents’ external assets and a €7.6 billion net flow under residents’ external liabilities.
Under portfolio investment, an increase in residents’ external assets was mainly due to a €1.9 billion widening in residents’ holdings of foreign equities and, to a lesser extent, to a €533.0 million rise in residents’ holdings of foreign bonds and Treasury bills. An increase in their liabilities was mostly driven by a €8.7 billion increase in non-residents’ holdings of Greek bonds and Treasury bills, as well as a €2.8 billion rise in non-residents’ holdings of Greek equities.
Under other investment, a rise in residents’ external assets mainly reflects a €3.0 billion rise in loans extended to non-residents and a €2.9 billion statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes, which were partly offset by a €1.2 billion drop in residents’ deposit and repo holdings abroad. A decline in residents’ liabilities was associated mainly with a €9.1 billion reduction in loans granted to residents by foreign financial institutions, which was largely offset by a €4.4 billion increase in non-residents’ deposit and repo holdings in Greece (the TARGET account included) and, to a lesser extent, a €2.9 billion statistical adjustment related to the issuance of banknotes.
At end-July 2026, Greece’s reserve assets stood at €19.5 billion, against €15.8 billion at end-July 2025.
Note: Balance of Payments data for August 2026 will be released on 21 October 2026.