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Balance of International Payments

Balance of International Payments

Current account balance of -€4.5bn in Quarter 3 2022

Online ISSN: 2565-6384
CSO statistical publication, , 11am
Table 1.1 Balance of International Payments€ million
 Merchandise BalanceServices and Income BalanceCurrent Account BalanceCurrent Account Balance as % of GDP
Q3 202144,823-22,15622,66619.7
Q3 202253,546-58,027-4,480-3.3
 
Q1-Q3 2021127,017-70,93756,07917.7
Q1-Q3 2022150,411-122,00328,4117.7

Current account balance of -€4.5bn in quarter 3 2022

The Balance of Payments current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, showed a deficit of €4.48bn in the third quarter of 2022. Increased R&D related IP imports have contributed to the current account deficit.

Current Account
Q2 202013.2746204617677
Q3 20209.87812279310573
Q4 20200.808201291059934
Q1 202116.8480902885159
Q2 202116.1198977086449
Q3 202119.7322326507056
Q4 20214.21303948476478
Q1 202214.4521849337661
Q2 202213.1058684144742
Q3 2022-3.34580087887598
MerchandiseServicesPrimary IncomeSecondary IncomeBalance on Current Account
Q2 202034.2660.39-22.443-0.97411.239
Q3 202037.4652.502-29.253-0.7279.987
Q4 202034.343-14.731-17.819-1.0340.76
Q1 202142.0575.491-29.221-1.27317.054
Q2 202140.1375.203-27.987-0.99416.359
Q3 202144.8235.146-26.622-0.6822.666
Q4 202140.291-15.263-19.019-1.434.58
Q1 202247.7845.442-34.986-1.19817.043
Q2 202249.0812.974-35.022-1.18615.848
Q3 202253.546-18.491-38.401-1.135-4.48

Current account (see Table 1.3)

  • Merchandise exports were €92,641m in the third quarter of 2022, an increase of €20,944m compared with the third quarter of 2021. Merchandise imports were €39,095m in the third quarter of 2022, an increase of €12,221m over the same period in 2021.
  • Service exports at €85,888m increased by €11,887m compared to the third quarter of 2021, mainly due to higher Computer services exports (which increased by €5,600m) and higher Transport and Tourism services exports (which increased by €1,972m and €1,217m respectively).
  • Service imports at €104,379m were up €35,524m over the same period in 2021, mainly due to higher R&D related IP imports and higher miscellaneous business services imports (which increased by €24,306m and €3,549m respectively).
  • Ireland’s trade balance at €35,055m, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, decreased by €14,913m in the third quarter of 2022 over the same period in 2021.
  • Investment income earned abroad at €32,716m, increased by €6,712m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to foreign investors at €71,298m increased by €18,466m. The overall income balance for the quarter at -€39,536m decreased by €12,234m compared with the same period in 2021.
Direct InvestmentPortfolio InvestmentOther InvestmentReserve AssetsBalance on Financial Account
Q2 2020-51.18349.41312.891-0.01411.107
Q3 2020-12.829-2.91716.6830.7611.697
Q4 20204.17216.581-10.780.39610.371
Q1 202117.0998.338-14.6510.17310.959
Q2 20214.815-4.66722.9820.07223.203
Q3 20217.198-10.62413.614.08114.264
Q4 202124.1340.872-13.210.65412.45
Q1 20229.8-36.09137.62-0.12911.2
Q2 202224.456-32.64314.7070.0336.553
Q3 2022-49.11-47.85276.9960.603-19.364

Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)

  • Direct investment in Ireland increased by €36,807m in the third quarter of 2022. This was due to increased equity and reinvestment of earnings of €21,573m and €21,182m which were offset by decreased other capital of €5,946m. Direct investment abroad decreased by €12,302m in the quarter, mainly due to a decrease in equity and other capital investment.
  • Portfolio investment in foreign assets decreased by €45,681m in the quarter due to a decrease in investment in foreign equity and foreign debt instruments of €16,961m and €28,720m. Portfolio investment in Ireland increased by €2,171m due to increased investment in equity instruments of €8,829m which was offset by a decrease in investment in debt instruments of €6,657m.
  • Other investment assets and liabilities increased by €88,720m and €11,724m respectively in the third 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