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Current account balance of €12.7bn in Quarter 3 2020
The Balance of Payments current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, showed a surplus of €12.7bn in the third quarter of 2020. Quarter on quarter increased merchandise exports and continued low imports of intellectual property have kept the account in surplus.
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| Current Account |
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 | -15.8430740827369 |
Q2 2020 | 14.1110049572984 |
Q3 2020 | 12.794781627022 |
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normal
| Merchandise | Services | Primary Income | Secondary Income | Balance on Current Account |
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 |
Q3 2020 | 36.82 | 5.57 | -28.935 | -0.751 | 12.705 |
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Other points of note in the Quarter 3 2020 results are:
Current account (see Table 1.3)
- Merchandise exports were €60,263m in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of €2,857m compared with the third quarter of 2019. Merchandise imports were €23,443m in the third quarter of 2020, a decrease of €2,359m over the same period in 2019.
- Service exports at €53,858m decreased by €1,865m compared to the third quarter of 2019, mainly due to lower Transport and Tourism & Travel services exports (which decreased by €2,108m and €1,464m respectively).
- Service imports at €48,288m were down €6,439m over the same period in 2019, mainly due to lower Tourism & Travel and Royalty services imports (which decreased by €1,923m and €5,234m respectively).
- Ireland’s trade balance at €42,391m, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, increased by €9,791m in the third quarter of 2020 over the same period in 2019.
- Investment income earned abroad at €22,195m, decreased by €5,919m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to foreign investors at €51,400m increased by €2,937m. The overall income balance for the quarter at -€29,686m decreased by €8,695m compared with the same period in 2019.
normal
| Direct Investment | Portfolio Investment | Other Investment | Reserve Assets | Balance on Financial Account |
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 |
Q3 2020 | 3.497 | 10.736 | -11.888 | 0.695 | 3.041 |
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Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)
- Direct investment in Ireland decreased by €19,372m in the third quarter of 2020. This was due to decreased equity investment of €7,830m and other capital of €37,170m which were offset by increased reinvested earnings of €25,628m. Direct investment abroad decreased by €15,874m in the quarter, mainly due to decreased equity investment of €12,208m and other capital investment abroad of €7,390m.
- Portfolio investment in foreign assets increased by €54,253m in the quarter. Investment in foreign equity increased by €30,372m while investment in foreign debt instruments increased by €23,881m. Portfolio investment in Ireland increased by €43,517m, mainly due to increased purchase of Irish equity of €33,896m and Irish debt of €9,621m.
- Other investment assets and liabilities increased by €23,160m and €35,047m respectively in the third quarter of 2020 due to an increase in both IFSC enterprise assets and liabilities.
Show Table: Table 1.2 Summary of Current, Capital and Financial Account Balances
Show Table: Table 1.3 Current and Capital Accounts
Show Table: Table 1.4 Financial Account
Show Table: Table 1.5 Current, Capital and Financial Accounts showing IFSC and Non-IFSC activity
Show Table: Table 1.6 Current and Capital Accounts showing geographical detail
Show Table: Table 1.7 Financial Account showing geographical detail
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