Balance of Payments: January 2026
23/03/2026 - Press Releases
- In January 2026, the current account registered a deficit, against a surplus year-on-year, mainly due to a deterioration in the secondary income account and, to a lesser extent, in the primary income account, while the balance of goods and the balance of services improved.
Current account
In January 2026, the current account recorded a deficit of €1.3 billion, compared with a surplus in the corresponding month of 2025, while the balance of goods and services improved.
The goods deficit contracted as imports fell more than exports in absolute terms. At current prices, exports decreased by 10.6% (by 5.9% at constant prices) and imports fell by 7.5% (3.6% at constant prices). Specifically, non-oil exports of goods at current prices fell by 4.5% (6.4% at constant prices), while the corresponding imports decreased by 5.0% (5.7% at constant prices).
The services surplus rose in January 2026, mainly due to an improvement in the travel balance and, to a lesser extent, the other services balance, whereas the transport balance deteriorated. Compared with January 2025, non-residents’ arrivals rose by 33.3% and the relevant receipts grew by 58.4%.
The surplus of the primary income account declined year-on-year, almost exclusively on account of lower net receipts under other primary income. The surplus of the secondary income account contracted year-on-year, due to lower net receipts in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.[1]
Capital account
In January 2026, the capital account recorded a deficit of €156.2 million, against a surplus in January 2025, owing to a shift from net receipts to net payments in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.
Combined current and capital account
In January 2026, the surplus of the combined current and capital account (corresponding to the economy’s external financing requirements) decreased by €2.5 billion and turned into a deficit of €1.4 billion.
Financial account
In January 2026, direct investment showed a €496.4 million flow under residents’ external assets and a €2.2 billion flow under residents’ external liabilities, representing non‑residents’ direct investment in Greece, including UniCredit’s increased stake in Alpha Bank S.A.’s share capital.
Under portfolio investment, a decrease in residents’ external assets reflects a €985.0 million drop in residents’ holdings of foreign bonds and Treasury bills, which was offset, to some extent, by a €312.0 million rise in residents’ holdings of foreign equities. A rise in residents’ external liabilities is due to a €4.2 billion increase in non-residents’ holdings of Greek bonds and Treasury bills, which was partly offset by a €1.4 billion decrease in non-residents’ holdings of Greek equities.
Under other investment, residents’ external assets increased, due to a €613.0 million rise in loans extended to non-residents by domestic financial institutions and a €357.0 million statistical adjustment for the issuance of banknotes, which was partly offset by a €155.2 million drop in residents’ deposit and repo holdings abroad. A decline in residents’ external liabilities mainly reflects a €3.2 billion decrease in non-residents’ deposit and repo holdings in Greece (the TARGET account included) and, to a lesser extent, a €432.0 million decline in the outstanding debt to non-residents, which were offset to some extent by a €357.0 million statistical adjustment related to the issuance of banknotes.
At end-January 2026, Greece’s reserve assets stood at €22.5 billion, compared with €15.3 billion at end-January 2025.
Note: Balance of payments statistics for February 2026 will be released on 20 April 2026.
[1] It is noted that receipts are primarily associated with an inflow from the reallocation of the Eurosystem’s monetary income to the Bank of Greece.