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Balance of International Payments

Balance of International Payments

Current account balance of €15.8bn in Quarter 4 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
Q4 202140,291-35,7124,5804.2
Q4 202253,965-38,14015,82512.2
 
Q1-Q4 2021167,308-106,64960,65914.2
Q1-Q4 2022204,376-160,14344,2368.8

Current account balance of €15.8bn in quarter 4 2022

The Balance of Payments current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, showed a surplus of €15.8bn in the fourth quarter of 2022. Increased reinvested earnings inflows and computer services exports along with reduced R&D related IP imports have contributed to the current account surplus.

Current Account
Q3 20209.87812279310573
Q4 20200.808201291059934
Q1 202116.8480902885159
Q2 202116.1198977086449
Q3 202119.7322326507056
Q4 20214.21303948476478
Q1 202214.4474627498572
Q2 202213.110471936425
Q3 2022-3.34419201460527
Q4 202212.1942440678879
MerchandiseServicesPrimary IncomeSecondary IncomeBalance on Current Account
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
Q4 202253.965-6.693-30.129-1.31815.825

Current account (see Table 1.3)

  • Merchandise exports were €94,768m in the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of €22,425m compared with the fourth quarter of 2021. Merchandise imports were €40,803m in the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of €8,752m over the same period in 2021.
  • Service exports at €91,728m increased by €6,320m compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, mainly due to higher Computer services exports (which increased by €2,357m) and higher Business services exports (which increased by €2,299m).
  • Service imports at €98,422m were down €2,249m over the same period in 2021, mainly due to a reduction in R&D related IP imports of €15,337m .
  • Ireland’s trade balance at €47,272m, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, increased by €22,244m in the fourth quarter of 2022 over the same period in 2021.
  • Investment income earned abroad at €45,141m, increased by €11,694m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to foreign investors at €75,340m increased by €22,755m. The overall income balance for the quarter at -€31,447m decreased by €10,999m compared with the same period in 2021.

Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)

  • Direct investment in Ireland decreased by €978m in the fourth quarter of 2022. This was due to decreased equity and other capital of €5,642m and €1,403m which were offset by increased reinvestment of earnings of €6,067m. Direct investment abroad increased by €17,532m in the quarter, mainly due to increased reinvestment of earnings and other capital investment.
  • Portfolio investment in foreign assets increased by €63,230m in the quarter due to an increase in investment in foreign debt instruments of €64,683m. Portfolio investment in Ireland increased by €83,920m due to increased investment in equity instruments of €94,751m which was offset by a decrease in investment in debt instruments of €10,831m.
  • Other investment assets and liabilities decreased by €94,739m and €120,727m respectively in the fourth 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