Open in Excel:
Current account balance of €11.7bn in Quarter 2 2020
The Balance of Payments current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, showed a surplus of €11.7bn in the second quarter of 2020. Quarter on quarter we see reduced merchandise trade, while reduced imports of intellectual property as well as lower profit outflows have put the account in surplus.
null
| Current Account |
Q1 2018 | 14.0150354374873 |
Q2 2018 | 13.8390941460721 |
Q3 2018 | 12.9536795807672 |
Q4 2018 | -15.8463385447228 |
Q1 2019 | 10.7772509840293 |
Q2 2019 | -38.3864861688368 |
Q3 2019 | 12.452669962882 |
Q4 2019 | -30.7250927111529 |
Q1 2020 | -15.8970788054359 |
Q2 2020 | 14.085938453988 |
---|
normal
| Merchandise | Services | Primary Income | Secondary Income | Balance on Current Account |
Q1 2018 | 28.412 | 0.608 | -16.866 | -0.991 | 11.163 |
Q2 2018 | 28.044 | -0.017 | -16.155 | -1.076 | 10.795 |
Q3 2018 | 27.258 | 1.279 | -16.675 | -0.846 | 11.016 |
Q4 2018 | 25.418 | -18.214 | -19.753 | -0.808 | -13.357 |
Q1 2019 | 30.224 | -0.079 | -19.668 | -1.324 | 9.153 |
Q2 2019 | 28.1 | -38.931 | -21.111 | -0.66 | -32.602 |
Q3 2019 | 31.604 | 0.996 | -20.096 | -0.895 | 11.609 |
Q4 2019 | 29.197 | -37.317 | -19.751 | -0.693 | -28.564 |
Q1 2020 | 34.409 | -28.156 | -19.728 | -1.081 | -14.557 |
Q2 2020 | 33.374 | -0.788 | -19.916 | -1.008 | 11.663 |
---|
Other points of note in the Quarter 2 2020 results are:
Current account (see Table 1.3)
- Merchandise exports were €55,997m in the second quarter of 2020, an increase of €1,553m compared with the second quarter of 2019. Merchandise imports were €22,622m in the second quarter of 2020, a decrease of €3,722m over the same period in 2019.
- Service exports at €51,737m decreased by €3,031m compared to the second quarter of 2019, mainly due to lower Transport and Tourism & Travel services exports (which decreased by €1,890m and €1,453m respectively).
- Service imports at €52,525m were down €41,174m over the same period in 2020 due to decreased R&D related intellectual property imports.
- Ireland’s trade balance at €32,586m, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, increased by €43,417m in the second quarter of 2020 over the same period in 2019.
- Investment income earned abroad at €22,136m, decreased by €5,481m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to foreign investors at €42,100m decreased by €6,739m. The overall income balance for the quarter at -€20,924m increased by €847m compared with the same period in 2019.
normal
| Direct Investment | Portfolio Investment | Other Investment | Reserve Assets | Balance on Financial Account |
Q1 2018 | 16.74 | 19.365 | -33.684 | -0.022 | 2.399 |
Q2 2018 | 11.434 | -16.041 | 19.784 | 0.005 | 15.181 |
Q3 2018 | 15.206 | 8.493 | -15.738 | 0.209 | 8.17 |
Q4 2018 | -21.605 | 25.783 | -62.669 | 0.578 | -57.913 |
Q1 2019 | 6.121 | 10.265 | -5.096 | 0.002 | 11.291 |
Q2 2019 | -56.32 | -9.936 | 9.38 | 0.121 | -56.754 |
Q3 2019 | -5.398 | -6.617 | 16.685 | 0.125 | 4.795 |
Q4 2019 | -31.71 | 35.461 | -29.574 | 0.181 | -25.641 |
Q1 2020 | -14.702 | -83.137 | 73.562 | 0.138 | -24.138 |
Q2 2020 | -67.348 | 82.309 | -17.006 | 0.019 | -2.027 |
---|
Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)
- Direct investment in Ireland increased by €64,428m in the second quarter of 2020. This was due to equity investment of €59,092m and reinvested earnings of €17,049m which were offset by a decrease in other capital of €11,712m. Direct investment abroad decreased by €2,920m in the quarter, mainly due to decreased other capital investment abroad of €6,536m.
- Portfolio investment in foreign assets increased by €168,713m in the quarter. Investment in foreign equity increased by €23,252m while investment in foreign debt instruments increased by €145,461m. Portfolio investment in Ireland increased by €86,405m, mainly due to increased purchase of Irish equity of €58,837m and Irish debt of €27,567m.
- Other investment assets and liabilities decreased by €57,388m and €40,381m respectively in the second quarter of 2020 due to a significant decrease in both IFSC enterprise assets and liabilities.
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 Accounts showing IFSC and non-IFSC activity
Table 1.6 Current and Capital Accounts showing geographical detail
Table 1.7 Financial Account showing geographical detail
Next Chapter >> Goods and Services