Notable drop in Greece’s current account deficit in Jan-May
Greece’s current account deficit fell by 431.3 million euros year-on-year to stand at €1.6 billion, the Bank of Greece said on Friday.
In a monthly report the central bank said that the reduction in the goods deficit could be attributed to a larger drop in imports than exports in absolute terms.
Exports dropped by 15.9% at current prices (-4.6% at constant prices) and imports fell by 12.8% at current prices (-2.9% at constant prices).
Non-oil exports of goods edged up by 0.7% at current prices (-1.9% at constant prices), whereas non-oil imports of goods dropped by 4.0% (-5.0% at constant prices).
An increase in the services’ surplus is due to an improvement in the balance of travel services, while the transport balance, and to a lesser extent the other services balance, deteriorated.
Non-resident arrivals rose by 13.9% and the relevant receipts increased by 24.8% compared with May 2022.
The primary income account registered a deficit, against a surplus in May 2022, largely on the back of higher interest, dividend and profit payments.
The surplus of the secondary income account decreased compared with May 2022, reflecting mainly a fall in general government net receipts.
