Travel receipts in Greece grew by 5.3% in July and by 6.4 % during the first seven months of 2017, according to Bank of Greece’s data while tourism arrivals also rose by 8% between January and July.
A year-on-year rise of €249 million in the surplus of the services balance is due to an improvement in all its main components, most importantly in the travel balance, the surplus of which widened by €169 million, as in July 2017 non-residents’ arrivals and the corresponding receipts increased by 10.2% and 5.3%, respectively. The surplus of the transport balance grew by €69 million, solely on account of higher net sea transport receipts.
In July 2017, the current account showed a surplus of €1.6 billion, up by €213 million year-on-year. This improvement is attributable to a rise in the surplus of the services balance and a drop in the deficit of the primary and the secondary income accounts. On the contrary, the deficit of the goods balance increased.
A year-on-year increase of €232 million in the deficit of the balance of goods is mostly attributable to a rise in the deficit of the non-oil balance of goods, given that the relevant imports grew faster than the corresponding exports. The increase in the deficit of the oil balance was relatively lower. It should be noted that, during the same period, non-oil exports of goods rose by 1.8% and oil exports by 7.8% at constant prices.
The improvement in the primary income account is attributable, primarily, to lower net interest, dividend and profit payments and, secondarily, to higher net receipts under other primary income. The amelioration in the secondary income account is mainly due to the improved general government component.
In the January-July 2017 period, the current account improved, as the deficit declined by €210 million year-on-year and stood at €1.2 billion. This development reflects improvements in the services balance and in the primary and the secondary income accounts, which more than offset the increase in the deficit of the balance of goods. The overall balance of goods and services showed a deficit of €2.2 billion, up by €131 million year-on-year, as a rise in exports of goods and services was more than offset by an increase in imports.
In the January-July 2017 period, a year-on-year widening in the deficit of the balance of goods is primarily the result of an increase in the deficit of the oil balance. The deficit of the non-oil balance of goods also grew, given that imports increased faster than exports. It should be noted that non-oil exports of goods rose by 5.2% and oil exports by 8.2% at constant prices, while the increase in the corresponding imports was 7.4% and 10.4%.
An increase of €1.0 billion in the surplus of the services balance is the result of an improvement in all of its main components. Compared with the same period in 2016, non-residents’ arrivals increased by 8% and the corresponding receipts by 6.4%. In addition, transport receipts rose by 18.1%.
The surplus of the primary income account grew by €292 million as a result of lower net interest, dividend and profit payments, while the deficit of the secondary income account declined on account of the improved non-government sectors component.
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