Greek current account deficit shrank in Jan-July

The Greek current account deficit shrank by 725 million euros in the January-July period compared with the same period in 2018, totaling 2.7 billion euros, the Bank of Greece said on Friday.

The central bank, in a monthly report, attributed this development primarily to an increase in the surplus of the balance of services and secondly to an improvement in the balances of primary and secondary incomes, which counterbalanced a widening of the deficit in the balance of goods. The deficit in the balance of goods rose, despite an increase in exports, as imports rose faster.

More specifically, in the first seven months of 2019 exports of goods grew 2.2 pct in current prices (1.3 pct in fixed prices), while imports of goods rose 4.7 pct in current prices (2.7 pct in fixed prices). Receipts from travel services grew 13.6 pct despite a 0.6 pct increase in foreign travellers and receipts from transport grew 6.9 pct. In the January-July period, the total balance of current accounts and capital recorded a deficit of 2.4 billion euros, down 793 million from the same period last year.

Portfolio investments recorded an increase reflecting higher placements in Greek state bonds and treasury bills.