Balance of Payments: January 2022
23/03/2022 - Press Releases
- In January 2022, the current account deficit grew year‑on‑year, mainly due to a worsening of the balance of goods and, to a lesser extent, of the primary income account, which was partly offset by an improvement in the balance of services and the secondary income account.
Current account
In January 2022, the current account deficit grew by €1.6 billion year‑on‑year and stood at €2.0 billion.
A rise in the deficit of the balance of goods is attributable to the fact that imports increased much faster than exports, both at current and at constant prices. More specifically, exports grew by 35.4% at current prices (4.1% at constant prices) and imports increased by 57.9% at current prices (19.8% at constant prices). In particular, non‑oil exports of goods grew by 22.8% at current prices (11.4% at constant prices) and non‑oil imports of goods increased by 41.9% at current prices (32.7% at constant prices).
The surplus of the services balance rose, reflecting an improvement in all sub‑accounts (travel, transport and other services balances). Non‑residents’ arrivals and the corresponding receipts grew substantially (by 256.7% and 309.8%, respectively). The surplus of the transport balance registered a small increase on the back of an improvement in the surplus of the sea transport balance.
The primary income account surplus fell year‑on‑year, mainly owing to lower net interest, dividend and profit receipts. The secondary income account surplus increased year‑on‑year, mainly as a result of higher net receipts of the sectors other than general government.
Capital account
In January 2022, the capital account showed a deficit, against a surplus in January 2021.
Combined current and capital account
In January 2022, the combined current and capital account (corresponding to the economy's external financing requirements) showed a deficit of €2.2 billion, against a small surplus in January 2021.
Financial account
In January 2022, under direct investment, residents' external assets increased by €21.9 million and residents' external liabilities rose by €635.2 million.
Under portfolio investment, an increase in residents’ external assets is mainly due to a rise of €3.2 billion in residents’ holdings of foreign bonds and Treasury bills. An increase in residents' external liabilities is attributable to a rise of €2.5 billion in non‑residents' holdings of Greek government bonds and Treasury bills.
Under other investment, a decrease in residents’ external assets is mainly due to a decline of €661.0 million in residents’ deposit and repo holdings abroad, which was partly offset by the statistical adjustment (of €323.0 million) related to the issuance of banknotes. An increase in their liabilities represents a rise of €1.6 billion in non‑residents’ deposit and repo holdings in Greece (the TARGET account included).
At end-January 2022, Greece’s reserve assets stood at €12.7 billion.
Related information: Balance of payments data for February 2022 will be released on 20 April 2022.