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Balance of International Payments

Balance of International Payments

Current account balance of €13.8bn in Quarter 1 2023

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
Q1 202247,784-30,74217,04314.4
Q1 202356,099-42,26313,83611.2
 
Q1-Q4 2021167,308-106,64960,65914.2
Q1-Q4 2022204,376-160,14344,2368.8

Current account balance of €13.8bn in quarter 1 2023

The Balance of Payments current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, showed a surplus of €13.8bn in the first quarter of 2023 down €3.2bn on the Q12022 surplus of €17bn. This was due to reduced services and income balances which were partially offset by an increased merchandise balance.

Current Account
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
Q1 202311.2052302846924
MerchandiseServicesPrimary IncomeSecondary IncomeBalance on Current Account
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
Q1 202356.099-1.481-39.592-1.1913.836

Current account (see Table 1.3)

  • Merchandise exports were €88,802m in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of €10,329m compared with the first quarter of 2022. Merchandise imports were €32,703m in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of €2,015m over the same period in 2022.
  • Service exports at €83,300m increased by €5,344m compared to the first quarter of 2022, mainly due to higher Computer services exports (which increased by €3,818m) and higher Transport and Travel services exports (which increased by €824m and €746m).
  • Service imports at €84,782m were up €12,268m over the same period in 2022, mainly due to increased Royalty imports of €8,224m and increased Travel and Business service imports (which grew by €1,447m and €1,549m).
  • Ireland’s trade balance at €54,617m, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, increased by €1,390m in the first quarter of 2023 over the same period in 2022.
  • Investment income earned abroad at €45,881m, increased by €14,699m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to foreign investors at €85,629m increased by €19,292m. The overall income balance for the quarter at -€40,781m decreased by €4,597m compared with the same period in 2022.
Direct InvestmentPortfolio InvestmentOther InvestmentReserve AssetsBalance on Financial Account
Q4 20204.17216.581-10.780.39610.371
Q1 202117.0998.338-14.6510.17310.959
Q2 20214.815-4.66722.9820.07223.203
Q3 20217.198-10.62413.614.08114.264
Q4 202124.1340.872-13.210.65412.45
Q1 20229.8-36.09137.62-0.12911.2
Q2 202224.456-32.64314.7070.0336.553
Q3 2022-49.11-47.85276.9960.603-19.364
Q4 202218.511-20.6925.988-0.02223.787
Q1 20237.923-27.24229.2590.0119.951

Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)

  • Direct investment in Ireland increased by €1,854m in the first quarter of 2023. This was due to increased equity and other capital of €8,955m and €1,968m which were offset by decreased reinvestment of earnings of €9,069m. Direct investment abroad increased by €9,777m in the quarter, mainly due to increased reinvestment of earnings and equity investment.
  • Portfolio investment in foreign assets decreased by €12,471m in the quarter due to a decrease in investment in foreign debt instruments of €32,173m which was offset by increased equity of €19,702m. Portfolio investment in Ireland increased by €14,771m due to increased investment in equity and debt instruments of €7,723m and €7,049m.
  • Other investment assets grew by €23,212m while other investment liabilities decreased by €6,047m in the first quarter of 2023.
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