Balance of Payments: September 2024
20/11/2024 - Press Releases
- In September 2024, the current account deficit increased slightly year-on-year, due to a deterioration in the balance of goods, which was partly offset by an improvement in the balance of services and in the primary income account and, to a lesser extent, in the secondary income account.
- In January-September 2024, the current account deficit widened year-on-year, owing to a worsening in the balance of goods and, to a lesser extent, in the primary income account, which was partly offset by an improvement mainly in the secondary income account, as well as in the balance of services.
Current account
In September 2024, the current account deficit increased by €56.1 million year-on-year and stood at €316.5 million.
The goods deficit grew, as exports decreased and imports increased. At current prices, goods exports decreased by 5.0% (up by 4.1% at constant prices), while goods imports rose by 1.7% (6.2% at constant prices). Non-oil goods exports at current prices grew by 10.0% (8.2% at constant prices) and the corresponding imports increased by 2.4% (1.7% at constant prices).
The surplus of the services balance expanded on account of an improvement in the travel balance, while the transport and the other services balance deteriorated. Compared with September 2023, non-residents’ arrivals grew by 6.6% and the relevant receipts rose by 7.9%. The deficit of the primary income account fell year-on-year, owing to lower net interest, dividend and profit payments. The deficit of the secondary income account decreased slightly compared with September 2023, as a result of lower net payments mainly in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.
In January-September 2024, the current account deficit rose by €1.0 billion year-on-year and stood at €7.7 billion.
The goods deficit grew, as imports increased while exports dropped. At current prices, goods exports fell by 2.7% (‑3.3% at constant prices) and goods imports grew by 1.9% (3.3% at constant prices). More specifically, non-oil goods exports at current prices declined slightly by 0.6%, while the corresponding imports increased by 3.5% (‑3.3% and 3.6% at constant prices, respectively).
The surplus of the services balance widened, as a result of an improvement in the travel balance and, to a lesser extent, in the other services balance, while the surplus of the transport balance decreased slightly. Non-residents’ arrivals increased by 9.3% year-on-year and the relevant receipts rose by 4.1%.
The deficit of the primary income account grew year-on-year, mainly owing to a decline in net receipts under other primary income, as well as an increase in net interest, dividend and profit payments. The surplus of the secondary income account more than doubled year-on-year, due to higher net receipts in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.
Capital account
In September 2024, the capital account registered a €70.9 million deficit, against a surplus in the same month of 2023, mainly reflecting zero net receipts in the general government sector.
In January-September 2024, the capital account showed a deficit of €623.9 million, against a surplus in the corresponding period of 2023, mainly as a result of a decrease in general government net receipts, as well as a shift from net receipts to net payments in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.
Combined current and capital account
In September 2024, the deficit of the combined current and capital account (corresponding to the economy’s external financing requirements) increased by €175.4 million year-on-year and stood at €387.4 million.
In January-September 2024, the deficit of the combined current and capital account widened by €3.7 billion year-on-year and stood at €8.3 billion.
Financial account
In September 2024, direct investment saw net flows of €95.6 million under residents’ external assets and net flows of €393.8 million under residents’ external liabilities, without any notable transactions.
Under portfolio investment, an increase in residents’ external assets is mainly attributable to a rise of €373.0 million in their holdings of foreign bonds and Treasury bills and to an increase of €192.1 million in their holdings of foreign equities. An increase in their liabilities is mostly due to a €1.4 billion rise in non-residents’ holdings of Greek bonds and Treasury bills.
Under other investment, residents’ external assets increased, primarily due to a €638.0 million statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes and a €335.0 million rise in loans extended to non-residents, as well as an increase of €148.4 million in residents’ deposit and repo holdings abroad. A rise in their liabilities is attributable to a €638.0 million statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes and to a rise of €582.4 million in residents’ outstanding debt to non-residents, which was partly offset by a drop of €950.0 million in non-residents’ deposit and repo holdings in Greece (the TARGET account included).
In January-September 2024, direct investment showed a €1.5 billion net flow under residents’ external assets and a €3.1 billion net flow under residents’ external liabilities, representing non-residents’ direct investment in Greece.
Under portfolio investment, a rise in residents’ external assets is mostly attributable to an increase of €4.4 billion in residents’ holdings of foreign bonds and Treasury bills. A rise in their liabilities is chiefly due to a €7.5 billion increase in non-residents’ holdings of Greek bonds and Treasury bills, as well as a €1.7 billion rise in non-residents’ holdings of Greek equities.
Under other investment, a drop in residents’ external assets is primarily due to a decline of €6.3 billion in residents’ deposit and repo holdings abroad, which was partly offset by a €2.5 billion statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes and by a €1.3 billion rise in loans extended to non-residents. A decline in their liabilities reflects a drop of €2.9 billion in non-residents’ deposit and repo holdings in Greece (the TARGET account included) and a decrease of €1.6 billion in residents’ outstanding debt to non-residents, which was offset, to a degree, by a €2.5 billion statistical adjustment related to the issuance of banknotes.
At end-September 2024, Greece’s reserve assets stood at €13.9 billion, compared with €11.8 billion at end-September 2023.
Note: Balance of payments data for October 2024 will be released on 20 December 2024.