Balance of Payments: May 2026
21/07/2026 - Press Releases
- In May 2026, the current account deficit widened year on year, mainly due to a deterioration in the secondary and, to a lesser extent, the primary income accounts, which was partly offset by an improvement in the goods and services balances.
- In the January-May 2026 period, the current account deficit increased year on year, due to a deterioration in the secondary and primary income accounts, which was partly offset by an improvement in the goods and services balances.
Current account
In May 2026, the current account deficit increased by €956.6 million year on year and stood at €960.2 million, despite the improvement recorded in the goods and services balances.
The goods deficit decreased, as the increase in exports exceeded that of imports. At current prices, exports rose by 21.1% (1.0% at constant prices), while imports increased by 9.6% (1.4% at constant prices). Specifically, exports of non-oil goods increased by 3.7% at current prices (-2.7% at constant prices), while imports of non-oil goods rose by 2.5% (0.9% at constant prices).
The surplus in the services balance increased, mainly due to an improvement in the travel balance and, to a lesser extent, in the transport balance, partly offset by the recording of net payments instead of net receipts in the other services balance. Compared to May 2025, non-resident tourist arrivals and the corresponding receipts grew by 12.2% and 10.9%, respectively.
The deficit in the primary income account widened year on year, reflecting mainly lower net receipts from other primary income. The secondary income account recorded a deficit, against a surplus in May 2025, mainly on the back of net payments rather than net receipts in the general government sector.[1]
In the January-May 2026 period, the current account deficit increased by €1.6 billion year on year and stood at €8.9 billion.
The goods deficit shrank, reflecting a larger increase in exports than in imports. At current prices, exports grew by 13.9% (4.0% at constant prices) and imports by 3.9% (-0.6% at constant prices). Specifically, exports of non-oil goods expanded by 4.9% at current prices and the corresponding imports increased by 3.8% (1.2% and 2.7% at constant prices, respectively).
The surplus in the services balance increased, mainly owing to an improvement in the travel balance, which was offset to some extent by net payments rather than net receipts in the other services balance, while the transport balance surplus posted a small increase. Compared to the first five months of 2025, non-resident tourist arrivals rose by 20.9% and the corresponding receipts by 25.8%.
The deficit in the primary income account increased year on year, chiefly because of a significant decline in net receipts from other primary income. The surplus in the secondary income account decreased year on year, mainly as a result of lower net receipts in sectors other than general government.
Capital account
In May 2026, the capital account recorded a deficit of €13.6 million, against a surplus in May 2025, mainly reflecting almost zero payments instead of net receipts in the general government sector.[2]
In the January-May 2026 period, the capital account surplus shrank year on year and stood at €344.9 million, mainly due to lower net receipts in the general government sector.
Combined current and capital account
In May 2026, the deficit in the combined current and capital account (corresponding to the economy’s external financing requirements) recorded a deficit of €973.9 million, against a surplus in the corresponding month of 2025.
In the January-May 2026 period, the deficit of the combined current and capital account increased year on year and stood at €8.6 billion.
Financial account
In May 2026, direct investment saw net flows of €142.1 million under residents’ external assets and net flows of €1.7 billion under residents’ external liabilities, including the share capital increase of PPC S.A. (Public Power Corporation).
Under portfolio investment, an increase in residents’ external assets mainly reflects a €637.0 million rise in residents’ holdings of foreign bonds and Treasury bills and a €594.7 million increase in their holdings of foreign equities. A rise in residents’ external liabilities is mainly due to a €2.3 billion increase in non-residents’ holdings of Greek equities and, to a lesser extent, a €663.0 million rise in non-residents’ holdings of Greek bonds and Treasury bills.
Under other investment, an increase in residents’ external assets was mainly attributable to a rise of €1.8 billion in their deposit and repo holdings abroad, a €411.7 million increase in loans granted to non-residents by domestic financial institutions and a €401.0 million statistical adjustment related to the issuance of banknotes. A decrease in residents’ external liabilities mainly reflects a drop of €239.0 million in non-residents’ deposit and repo holdings in Greece (including the TARGET account) and a €201.8 million decrease in outstanding debt to non-residents, which was partly offset by a €401.0 million statistical adjustment related to banknote issuance.
In the January-May 2026 period, direct investment showed a €1.6 billion flow under residents’ external assets and a €6.1 billion flow under residents’ external liabilities, representing non-residents’ direct investment in Greece.
Under portfolio investment, an increase in residents’ external assets is due to a €2.9 billion rise in residents’ holdings of foreign bonds and Treasury bills and a €1.5 billion increase in residents’ holdings of foreign equities. A rise in residents’ external liabilities is chiefly attributable to a €5.6 billion increase in non-residents’ holdings of Greek bonds and Treasury bills and, to a lesser extent, a €1.4 billion rise in non-residents’ holdings of Greek equities.
Under other investment, a rise in residents’ external assets is due to a €2.2 billion increase in loans to non-residents, as well as a €1.8 billion statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes, despite a €170.9 million decrease in residents’ deposit and repo holdings abroad. An increase in residents’ external liabilities is primarily attributable to a €5.0 billion rise in non-residents’ deposit and repo holdings in Greece (including the TARGET account) and, to a lesser extent, a €1.8 billion statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes, which were partly offset by a €1.9 billion drop in residents’ outstanding debt to non-residents.
At end-May 2026, Greece’s reserve assets stood at €20.9 billion, compared with €15.8 billion at end-May 2025.
Note: Balance of Payments data for June 2026 will be released on 20 August 2026.
[1] It should be noted that the fifth instalment under the grants component of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) was disbursed in May 2025. This was recorded in the secondary income and capital accounts.
[2] See previous footnote.