According to the Bank of Greece there was a 1 billion euro deficit in the current account balance during January and February 2014, about 6 million euros more that the deficit in 2013. In February 2014 alone the deficit was 709 million euros, 25 million more than in 2013.
The main reason for this development was the increase of the trade deficit, which in turn was mostly offset by the increase of surpluses in services and current transactions. The income deficit remained mostly the same.
In particular, the increase of trade deficit by 131 million euros to 3.27 billion euros is primarily responsible for the increase of net payment for the purchase of ships and, to a lesser extent, fuel. The balance of other goods marginally improved, despite the drop in export revenue, given that payments for imports dropped even more.
The increase of surpluses in services by 79 million euros to 1.13 billion euros is due to the increase of net payments for services, which offset the reduction of net payment for travel services and the increase of net payments for other services. In greater detail, the travel expenses in Greece for non-residents increased by 17.3% compared to the first two months of 2013, while domestic travel expenses for Greek residents increased by 27.3%
Overall, the income balance deficit increased by 4.3 million euros for a total of 538 million euros. The current transactions surplus increased by 50 million euros compared to 2013, for a total of 1.7 billion euros. These developments are attributed to the increase of net transactions between the EU and general government.
