In January-November 2024, the current account deficit widened year-on-year, owing to a worsening of the balance of goods and, to a lesser extent, of the primary income account, which was partly offset by an improvement mainly of the secondary income account, but also of the balance of services.
Current account
In November 2024, the current account deficit decreased by €31.8 million year-on-year and stood at €3.2 billion.
The goods deficit grew, reflecting a drop in exports and a parallel increase in imports. At current prices, goods exports fell by 5.8% (‑2.0% at constant prices) and goods imports rose by 2.3% (3.8% at constant prices). Non-oil goods exports at current prices increased by 2.5% (3.1% at constant prices) and the corresponding imports grew by 3.5% (3.2% at constant prices).
The surplus of the services balance widened, due to an improvement in, primarily, the travel balance and, secondarily, the other services balance, while the transport services balance deteriorated. Compared with November 2023, non-residents’ arrivals rose by 23.6% and the relevant receipts grew by 44.7%. The primary income account improved year-on-year, mainly reflecting a drop in net interest, dividend and profit payments, as well as an increase in net receipts from other primary income. The deficit of the secondary income account expanded slightly year-on-year, owing to higher general government net payments.
In January-November 2024, the current account deficit increased by €510.9 million year-on-year and stood at €11.5 billion.
The goods deficit grew, reflecting a drop in exports and a parallel increase in imports. At current prices, goods exports fell by 3.6% (‑3.3% at constant prices) and goods imports increased by 1.5% (3.0% at constant prices). Specifically, non-oil goods exports at current prices increased marginally (0.1%), while the corresponding imports rose by 4.2% (-2.3% and 4.2% at constant prices, respectively).
The surplus of the services balance expanded, chiefly as a result of an improvement in the travel balance and, to a lesser extent, in the other services balance, while the surplus of the transport balance decreased. Non-residents’ arrivals increased by 9.7% year-on-year and the relevant receipts rose by 4.9%.
The deficit of the primary income account grew year-on-year, mainly owing to a decline in net receipts under other primary income, which was partly offset by lower net interest, dividend and profit payments. The surplus of the secondary income account more than doubled year-on-year, due to higher net receipts in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.
Capital account
In November 2024, the capital account showed a surplus of €58.4 million, against a deficit in November 2023, reflecting net receipts, instead of net payments, in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.
In January-November 2024, the capital account showed a deficit of €34.6 million, against a surplus in the corresponding period of 2023, chiefly due to a decrease in general government net receipts, as well as an increase in net payments in the other sectors of the economy excluding general government.
Combined current and capital account
In November 2024, the deficit of the combined current and capital account (corresponding to the economy’s external financing requirements) fell relative to November 2023 and stood at €3.1 billion.
In January-November 2024, the deficit of the combined current and capital account widened by €2.4 billion year-on-year and stood at €11.6 billion.
Financial account
In November 2024, direct investment saw net disinvestments of €97.1 million under residents’ external assets and net flows of €1.6 billion under residents’ external liabilities, without any notable transactions.
Under portfolio investment, an increase in residents’ external assets is attributable principally to a rise of €1.0 billion in residents’ holdings of foreign bonds and Treasury bills and, to a lesser extent, to an increase of €355.6 million in their holdings of foreign equities. A drop in residents’ external liabilities was associated mainly with a decrease of €379.0 million in non-residents’ holdings of Greek equities, which was offset to a degree by a €204.0 million increase in their holdings of Greek bonds and Treasury bills.
Under other investment, residents’ external assets grew, due to a €671.0 million statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes and a €405.2 million rise in loans extended to non-residents, which was partly offset by a €91.0 million drop in residents’ deposit and repo holdings abroad. An increase in residents’ external liabilities mainly reflects a rise of €2.9 billion in non-residents’ deposit and repo holdings in Greece (the TARGET account included), as well as a €671.0 million statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes, which was partly offset by a decline of €227.3 million in the outstanding debt to non-residents.
In January-November 2024, direct investment showed a €1.5 billion net flow under residents’ external assets and a €4.8 billion net flow under residents’ external liabilities, representing non-residents’ direct investment in Greece.
Under portfolio investment, an increase in residents’ external assets is attributable principally to a rise of €4.4 billion in residents’ holdings of foreign bonds and Treasury bills and, to a lesser extent, to an increase of €1.6 billion in their holdings of foreign equities. A rise in their liabilities is chiefly due to a €8.9 billion increase in non-residents’ holdings of Greek bonds and Treasury bills and, to a lesser extent, a €2.0 billion rise in non-residents’ holdings of Greek equities.
Under other investment, a drop in residents’ external assets is primarily due to a decline of €7.1 billion in residents’ deposit and repo holdings abroad, which was partly offset by a €3.8 billion statistical adjustment associated with the issuance of banknotes and by a €2.0 billion rise in loans extended to non-residents. A decline in their liabilities reflects a drop of €2.5 billion in non-residents’ deposit and repo holdings in Greece (the TARGET account included) and a decrease of €2.1 billion in residents’ outstanding debt to non-residents, which was offset, to a degree, by a €3.8 billion statistical adjustment related to the issuance of banknotes.
At end-November 2024, Greece’s reserve assets stood at €14.6 billion, compared with €12.3 billion at end-November 2023.
