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Current account balance of €17.4bn in Quarter 1 2022
The Balance of Payments current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, showed a surplus of €17.4bn in the first quarter of 2022. Increased merchandise exports and computer services exports have contributed to the current account surplus.
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| Current Account |
Q4 2019 | -63.5161880916754 |
Q1 2020 | -49.2835487394886 |
Q2 2020 | 11.6541962287259 |
Q3 2020 | 15.1416633507514 |
Q4 2020 | 11.5649766415266 |
Q1 2021 | 18.9417611114286 |
Q2 2021 | 14.8989309568967 |
Q3 2021 | 20.3511305440226 |
Q4 2021 | 1.41953658723128 |
Q1 2022 | 14.8866972704544 |
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normal
| Merchandise | Services | Primary Income | Secondary Income | Balance on Current Account |
Q4 2019 | 29.188 | -68.463 | -18.838 | -0.66 | -58.773 |
Q1 2020 | 37.656 | -61.58 | -20.951 | -1.05 | -45.924 |
Q2 2020 | 34.277 | -1.664 | -21.784 | -0.974 | 9.855 |
Q3 2020 | 37.895 | 6.842 | -28.722 | -0.728 | 15.287 |
Q4 2020 | 35.124 | -5.498 | -17.703 | -1.034 | 10.89 |
Q1 2021 | 43.658 | 4.953 | -28.305 | -1.265 | 19.04 |
Q2 2021 | 42.28 | 2.945 | -29.252 | -0.98 | 14.993 |
Q3 2021 | 45.728 | 4.805 | -26.597 | -0.677 | 23.259 |
Q4 2021 | 41.277 | -15.831 | -22.513 | -1.427 | 1.506 |
Q1 2022 | 47.784 | 5.544 | -34.867 | -1.102 | 17.36 |
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Other points of note in the Quarter 1 2022 results are:
Current account (see Table 1.3)
- Merchandise exports were €78,473m in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of €9,652m compared with the first quarter of 2021. Merchandise imports were €30,688m in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of €5,524m over the same period in 2021.
- Service exports at €77,415m increased by €15,203m compared to the first quarter of 2021, mainly due to higher Computer services exports (which increased by €9,071m) and higher Business services exports.
- Service imports at €71,871m were up €14,612m over the same period in 2021, mainly due to higher Royalty imports and higher Business services imports.
- Ireland’s trade balance at €53,329m, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, increased by €4,718m in the first quarter of 2022 over the same period in 2021.
- Investment income earned abroad at €31,182m, increased by €2,501m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to foreign investors at €66,219m increased by €9,070m. The overall income balance for the quarter at -€35,969m decreased by €6,399m compared with the same period in 2021.
normal
| Direct Investment | Portfolio Investment | Other Investment | Reserve Assets | Balance on Financial Account |
Q4 2019 | -59.467 | 31.046 | -30.496 | 0.169 | -58.748 |
Q1 2020 | -52.356 | -85.894 | 79.837 | 0.139 | -58.274 |
Q2 2020 | -58.414 | 48.251 | 10.867 | -0.014 | 0.689 |
Q3 2020 | -6.514 | 0.883 | 16.066 | 0.76 | 11.196 |
Q4 2020 | 7.085 | 16.074 | -11.948 | 0.41 | 11.621 |
Q1 2021 | 22.855 | 12.427 | -23.254 | 0.173 | 12.201 |
Q2 2021 | 3.693 | -0.641 | 17.67 | 0.072 | 20.794 |
Q3 2021 | -11.444 | -2.057 | 22.402 | 4.081 | 12.982 |
Q4 2021 | 24.023 | -0.022 | -15.678 | 0.654 | 8.977 |
Q1 2022 | 9.158 | -35.752 | 38.308 | -0.129 | 11.585 |
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Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)
- Direct investment in Ireland increased marginally by €47m in the first quarter of 2022. This was due to increased other capital of €15,183m and increased reinvested earnings of €10,909m which were offset by decreased equity investment of €26,045m. Direct investment abroad increased by €9,205m in the quarter, mainly due to equity investment and reinvested earnings abroad which increased by €3,648m and €6,934m respectively.
- Portfolio investment in foreign assets decreased by €50,947m in the quarter due to a decreased in investment in foreign debt instruments of €62,188m which was offset by increased investment in foreign equity of €11,241m. Portfolio investment in Ireland decreased by €15,195m, mainly due to a decreased in investment in Irish equity of €13,520m and Irish debt was €1,675m.
- Other investment assets and liabilities increased by €83,835m and €45,527m respectively in the first quarter of 2022.
Table 1.2 Summary of Current, Capital and Financial Account Balances
Table 1.3 Current and Capital Accounts
Table 1.4 Financial Account
Table 1.5 – Current, Capital and Financial Account activity classified by Institutional Sector
Table 1.6 Current and Capital Accounts showing geographical detail
Table 1.7 Financial Account showing geographical detail