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Current Account in Surplus Again
Date: 12-07-2013
NBP data: In similarity to April, May 2013 saw positive balances on both the trade in goods and the current accounts. The total balance of the current and capital accounts was in excess of EUR 3.2bn.
Preliminary May 2013 balance of payments data released by the National Bank of Poland on12 July show Polish exports to be 3.1% up on May 2012. Imports, in contrast, had dropped by 4.6%. The surplus of goods trade, amounting to more than EUR 0.1bn was supported by the positive balances on the current transfer account (of over EUR 0.7bn) and on the service account. Service earnings stood at close to EUR 2.5bn, having risen by 1.7% y/y, while payments amounted to less than EUR 2.0bn, 0.5% up in year-on-year terms. The income account remained in deficit; yet the overall balance on the current account was positive, posting a surplus of nearly EUR 0.6bn.
May saw a surge in transfers of funds from the European Union to Poland. A total of more than EUR 3.6bn was received, while the contributions paid by Poland amounted to approx. EUR 0.3bn.
The May data on foreign investment were, in the opinion of NBP analysts, heavily affected by a single transaction of more than EUR 3.1bn. It resulted from termination of activity by one special-purpose entity, which decreased the amount of Poland's both inward and outward investment.
See: Balance of payments in May 2013