Greece's current account surplus increased year‑on‑year in August, mainly due to an improvement in the balance of services and, to a lesser extent, in the balance of goods and the secondary income account, while the primary income account deteriorated, the Bank of Greece said in a report on Friday.

The central bank said that in the January-August period, the current account deficit decreased year‑on‑year, owing to an improvement in the balance of goods, the balance of services and the secondary income account, which was offset to a degree by a worsening of the primary income account.

In August, the current account surplus increased slightly by 20.0 million euros year‑on‑year and stood at 497.7 million. A small decrease in the deficit of the balance of goods is accounted for by a larger decline in imports than in exports in absolute terms. Exports dropped by 24.5% at current prices (‑18.0% at constant prices) and imports fell by 15.1% at current prices (‑2.5% at constant prices). More specifically, non‑oil exports of goods declined by 12.7% at current prices (‑14.3% at constant prices), whereas non‑oil imports of goods rose by 1.6% at current prices (1.4% at constant prices).

An increase in the surplus of the services balance is due to an improvement in the travel balance and, to a lesser extent, in the other services balance, while the transport balance deteriorated. Non‑residents’ arrivals rose by 10.4% and the relevant receipts by 5.2% year‑on‑year.

The deficit of the primary income account increased year‑on‑year, mainly as a result of higher net interest, dividend and profit payments, as well as a drop in net receipts from other primary income. The deficit of the secondary income account decreased compared with August 2022, reflecting a fall in general government net payments, which was partly offset by an increase in the net payments of the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.

In the January-August period, the current account deficit decreased by 4.2 billion year‑on‑year to stand at 6.9 billion. A decline in the deficit of the balance of goods is accounted for by a larger drop in imports than in exports. Exports fell by 5.7% at current prices (‑1.1% at constant prices), whereas imports declined by 10.1% at current prices (‑3.2% at constant prices). Specifically, at current prices non‑oil exports of goods rose by 1.6%, while the corresponding imports decreased by 2.1% (‑3.3% and ‑4.1% at constant prices, respectively). An increase in the services surplus is attributed to an improvement, primarily, in the travel balance and, secondarily, in the other services balance, which was partly offset by a deterioration in the transport balance. Non‑residents’ arrivals grew by 18.4% and the relevant receipts increased by 15.3% year‑on‑year. The primary income account deficit deteriorated year‑on‑year, due to an increase in net interest, dividend and profit payments, which was partly offset by a rise in net receipts from other primary income. The surplus of the secondary income account grew year‑on‑year, owing to higher net receipts mainly in the general government and, to a lesser extent, in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.

The capital account surplus almost halved in August relative to August 2022 and stood at 101.6 million, as a result of net payments, instead of net receipts, being recorded in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government. In the eight-month period, the capital account surplus declined year‑on‑year and stood at 2.0 billion, mainly owing to lower net receipts in the general government sector.

At the end of August 2023, Greece’s reserve assets stood at 12.2 billion, compared with 11.1 billion at end‑August 2022.