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Table 1.1 Balance of International Payments | € million | |||
Merchandise Balance | Services and Income Balance | Current Account Balance | Current Account Balance as % of GDP | |
Q4 2019 | 29,197 | -57,761 | -28,564 | -30.7 |
Q4 2020 | 34,159 | -27,046 | 7,113 | 7.5 |
Q1-Q4 2019 | 119,125 | -159,529 | -40,404 | -11.3 |
Q1-Q4 2020 | 138,762 | -121,839 | 16,924 | 4.6 |
The Balance of Payments current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, showed a surplus of €7.1bn in the fourth quarter of 2020. Quarter on quarter shows a marked increase in both Computer services exports and Royalty imports.
Current Account | |
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 | -15.9650920719409 |
Q2 2020 | 14.1043746942574 |
Q3 2020 | 12.9415629599027 |
Q4 2020 | 7.52991668857651 |
Merchandise | Services | Primary Income | Secondary Income | Balance on Current Account | |
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 |
Q4 2020 | 34.159 | -5.561 | -20.417 | -1.068 | 7.113 |
Other points of note in the Quarter 4 2020 results are:
Direct Investment | Portfolio Investment | Other Investment | Reserve Assets | Balance on Financial Account | |
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 |
Q4 2020 | 5.974 | 21.36 | -15.03 | 0.396 | 12.7 |
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