Greece Current Account Gap Narrows In March

(RTTNews) - Greece's current account deficit decreased in March, due to improvements mostly in the goods and services balance and the primary income account, data from the Bank of Greece showed on Friday.

The current account showed a deficit of EUR 2.3 billion in March, down from 3.3 billion in the corresponding month last year.

The goods trade deficit narrowed to EUR 2.6 billion from EUR 3.2 billion as exports grew faster than imports. At the same time, the services surplus rose to EUR 555.4 million from 350.3 million as the surplus in the travel balance more than doubled and the surplus in the transport balance rose slightly.

Data showed that the shortfall of the primary income account declined to EUR 131.1 million from EUR 301.4 million in the prior year, reflecting a decrease in net payments for interest, dividends, and profits. Meanwhile, the deficit of the secondary income widened to EUR 176.7 million from EUR 149.7 million last year.

In March, the capital account recorded a surplus of EUR 132.9 million, up from EUR 122.1 million last year, while the financial account deficit dropped to EUR 1.98 billion from EUR 2.79 billion.