Balance of Payments: August 2024
21/10/2024 - Press Releases
- In August 2024, the current account surplus increased year-on-year due to an improvement in the balance of goods and, to a lesser extent, in the balance of services, which was partly offset by a deterioration in the primary and secondary income accounts.
- In January-August 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, but also in the balance of services.
Current account
In August 2024, the current account surplus increased by €39.4 million year-on-year and stood at €651.3 million.
The goods deficit narrowed, reflecting a larger drop in imports than in exports. At current prices, goods exports decreased by 1.7% (3.6% increase at constant prices) and goods imports dropped by 5.3% (4.0% at constant prices). More specifically, non-oil goods exports at current prices increased by 7.9% (5.6% at constant prices), while the corresponding imports dropped by 5.9% (6.3% at constant prices).
The surplus of the services balance showed a slight increase, as a result of an improvement in the other services balance, while the travel balance decreased and the transport balance remained broadly unchanged. Compared with August 2023, non-residents’ arrivals grew by 6.6%, while the relevant receipts fell by 1.8%.
The deficit of the primary income account increased year-on-year, reflecting lower net receipts from other primary income and, to a lesser extent, higher net interest, dividend and profit payments. The deficit of the secondary income account increased compared with August 2023, owing to higher general government net payments.
In January-August 2024, the current account deficit increased by €989.5 million year-on-year and stood at €7.3 billion.
The goods deficit grew, as imports increased while exports dropped. At current prices, goods exports fell by 2.4% (‑4.2% at constant prices) and goods imports grew by 1.9% (2.9% at constant prices). More specifically, non-oil goods exports at current prices declined by 1.9%, while the corresponding imports increased by 3.6% (‑4.7% and 3.8% at constant prices, respectively).
The surplus of the services balance increased, as a result of an improvement in, primarily, the travel and other services balances and, to a lesser extent, the transport balance. Non-residents’ arrivals increased by 9.9% year-on-year and the relevant receipts rose by 3.2%.
The deficit of the primary income account grew year-on-year, mainly owing to a decline in net receipts under other primary income and an increase in net interest, dividend and profit payments. The surplus of the secondary income account almost doubled year-on-year, due to higher net receipts in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.
Capital account
In August 2024, the capital account surplus narrowed by €89.8 million and stood at €11.8 million, mainly reflecting small net payments instead of general government net receipts.
In January-August 2024, the capital account showed a deficit of €553.0 million, against a surplus in the corresponding period of 2023, as a result of a decrease in general government net receipts and a shift from net receipts to net payments in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.
Combined current and capital account
In August 2024, the surplus of the combined current and capital account (corresponding to the economy’s external financing requirements) dropped by €50.4 million year-on-year and stood at €663.0 million.
In January-August 2024, the deficit of the combined current and capital account increased year-on-year and amounted to €7.9 billion.
Financial account
In August 2024, direct investment saw net flows of €108.6 million under residents’ external assets and net flows of €278.7 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 €676.0 million in their holdings of foreign bonds and Treasury bills. An increase in their liabilities is mostly due to a €101.0 million rise in non-residents’ holdings of Greek bonds and Treasury bills, which was partly offset by a €55.0 million decrease in their holdings of Greek equities.
Under other investment, residents’ external assets increased due to a €613.0 million statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes, which was partly offset by a decrease of €444.0 million in residents’ deposit and repo holdings abroad. A decrease in their liabilities is attributable to a decline of €690.2 million in residents’ outstanding debt to non-residents and to a drop of €139.0 million in non-residents’ deposit and repo holdings in Greece, which was partly offset by the €613.0 million statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes.
In January-August 2024, direct investment showed a €1.4 billion net flow under residents’ external assets and a €2.7 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 €4.0 billion in residents’ holdings of foreign bonds and Treasury bills. A rise in their liabilities is chiefly due to a €6.2 billion increase in non-residents’ holdings of Greek bonds and Treasury bills and to a €1.8 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 €6.5 billion in residents’ deposit and repo holdings abroad, which was partly offset by a €1.8 billion statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes and by a €941.2 million rise in loans extended to non-residents. A decline in their liabilities reflects a drop of €2.2 billion in residents’ outstanding debt to non-residents and a decrease of €2.0 billion in non-residents’ deposit and repo holdings in Greece (the TARGET account included), which was offset, to a degree, by the €1.8 billion statistical adjustment related to the issuance of banknotes.
At end-August 2024, Greece’s reserve assets stood at €13.6 billion, compared with €12.2 billion at end-August 2023.
Note: Balance of payments data for September 2024 will be released on 20 November 2024.