The current account surplus was smaller in February than a year ago

Postitatud:

13.04.2018

The flash estimate1 put the Estonian current account at 18 million euros in surplus in February 2018. The surplus on the goods and services account fell to 65 million euros. Exports of goods increased by 4% and imports by 11%. The faster growth in goods imports meant the deficit on the goods account was 67 million euros more than in February 2017 at 74 million euros. Services continued to grow fast as exports increased by 12% and imports by 11%. The surplus on the services account was 17 million euros larger than a year earlier at 140 million euros. The net outflow of investment income and current transfers, or the primary and secondary income accounts, increased by 12 million euros over the year to 48 million euros.

The current and capital accounts were in surplus by a total of 50 million euros, meaning that the Estonian economy was a net lender to the rest of the world, so the country as a whole invested more financial assets abroad than it received from there.

1 The quarterly balance of payments is compiled from a combined system of representative primary data sources, including surveys of companies, while the monthly balance of payments draws from a considerably smaller database. Although the monthly report uses as much of the data available for the month reported as possible, including administrative data sources and reports on international payments, it is subjective to a certain degree, which is why it is called an estimate. Once the quarterly balance of payments is released, the monthly balances of payments are adjusted accordingly. 

Eesti Pank publishes the flash estimate of the balance of payments monthly for the last month but one. Eesti Pank will publish the balance of payments for the first quarter of 2018 on 7 June 2018.

Statistical releases are published by Eesti Pank together with statistical data. The release is independent of economic policy releases and is presented separately from them.

Additional information:
Sünne Korasteljov
Eesti Pank Statistics Department
Telephone: 668 0906
Email: [email protected]