Greece Current Account Gap Narrows In April

(RTTNews) - Greece's current account deficit decreased in April from a year ago, mainly due to improvements in the balance of goods and the secondary income account, data from the Bank of Greece showed on Friday.

The current account showed a deficit of EUR 1.4 billion in April, down from EUR 2.3 billion in the corresponding month last year.

The goods trade deficit narrowed to EUR 2.3 billion from EUR 2.9 billion as exports grew faster than imports. At the same time, the services surplus dropped to EUR 914 million from 921 million due to a shift from net receipts to net payments in the other services balance.

Data showed that the shortfall of the primary income account declined to EUR 115.6 million from EUR 156.2 million in the prior year, reflecting mainly a decrease in net payments for interest, dividends, and profits.  Meanwhile, the balance in the secondary income turned to a surplus of EUR 145.8 million from a shortfall of EUR 227.6 million last year.

In April, the capital account recorded a surplus of EUR 488.6 million versus a deficit of EUR 53.3 million last year, while the financial account deficit dropped to EUR 755.5 million from EUR 2.3 billion.