Greece’s current account deficit down in Jan-Oct 2021
Greece’s current account deficit recorded a decrease of 2.7 billion euros year-on-year in the January-October 2021 period and stood at €6.4 billion, according to the Bank of Greece.
A rise in the services surplus is primarily thanks to an improvement in the travel services balance, the central bank said.
However, this was partly offset by a decline in the surplus of the transport balance.
Tourism arrivals soared 93.8% and their receipts grew by 142% year-on-year, accounting for 46% and 58% of the respective levels in 2019. Net transport receipts dropped by 9.7%.
The growth in the deficit of the balance of goods is due to the fact that imports increased more than exports in absolute terms.
In more detail, exports grew by 34% and 13.5% at current and constant prices, respectively, while imports rose by 32.1% at current prices and by 10.9% at constant prices, respectively.
Specifically, non-oil exports and imports of goods grew at almost the same rate (25.7% and 25.6%, respectively) at current prices, while at constant prices they increased by 20% and 23%, respectively.
In October 2021, the deficit of the combined current and capital account (corresponding to the economy’s external financing requirements) increased against October 2020 and stood at €884 million.
In the January-October 2021 period, the deficit of the combined current and capital account decreased year-on-year, from €7.3 billion to €3.3 billion.
