Greek current account balance shows surplus in Jan-Aug

The central bank, in a report, attributed this development to a decline in the deficits of the balance of goods and the primary income account, which offset the fall observed in the surplus of the services balance. The deficit of the balance of goods shrank by 268 million euros year-on-year, mainly because of a drop in imports, which was largely due to the imposition of capital controls. Exports also declined, albeit to a lesser extent. It should be noted that in August the value of goods exports excluding oil and ships fell by a mere 2.8 pct.

The surplus of the services balance declined by 142 million, as a result of lower net transport (mainly sea transport) and other services receipts. By contrast, the travel balance improved. The surplus of the travel balance rose by 212 million euros.

As a result, imports of goods and services registered a decline of 17.4 pct, which is fairly higher than the drop in the corresponding exports (9.8 pct), leading to an increase of 125 million euros in the surplus of the balance of goods and services. In August 2015, the primary income account showed a deficit which was lower by 109 million year-on-year.

In the January-August 2015 period, the current account improved by 1.5 billion euros and showed a surplus of 936 million, against a deficit of 557 million euros in the corresponding period of 2014. This reflects the improved balance of goods and services, which registered a surplus of 1.3 billion euros, against a deficit of 1.5 billion in the same period of 2014. Overall, receipts from exports of goods and services fell by 4.7 pct in the January-August 2015 period, but the corresponding import bill decreased at a faster pace of 11.2 pct. In August 2015, no remarkable transactions were recorded under direct investment.

In the January-August 2015 period, residentsʼ net assets from direct investment abroad rose by 265 million euros, while the corresponding liabilities that represent non-residentsʼ direct investment in Greece dropped by 175 million.

Under portfolio investment, a net decrease of 3.2 billion in residentsʼ external assets was mainly due to a drop of 10.4 billion in residentsʼ holdings of foreign bonds and Treasury bills, which was partly offset by a rise of 7.0 billion in residentsʼ investment in shares of foreign firms. Lastly, under other investment, a net increase in residentsʼ external assets and liabilities mainly reflects the statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes.

At the end of August 2015, Greeceʼs reserve assets stood at 5.0 billion euros, almost unchanged from end-August 2014.