Balance of International Payments
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.
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| Current Account |
Q4 2020 | 0.808201291059934 |
Q1 2021 | 16.8480902885159 |
Q2 2021 | 16.1198977086449 |
Q3 2021 | 19.7322326507056 |
Q4 2021 | 4.21303948476478 |
Q1 2022 | 14.4474627498572 |
Q2 2022 | 13.110471936425 |
Q3 2022 | -3.34419201460527 |
Q4 2022 | 12.1942440678879 |
Q1 2023 | 11.2052302846924 |
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normal
| Merchandise | Services | Primary Income | Secondary Income | Balance on Current Account |
Q4 2020 | 34.343 | -14.731 | -17.819 | -1.034 | 0.76 |
Q1 2021 | 42.057 | 5.491 | -29.221 | -1.273 | 17.054 |
Q2 2021 | 40.137 | 5.203 | -27.987 | -0.994 | 16.359 |
Q3 2021 | 44.823 | 5.146 | -26.622 | -0.68 | 22.666 |
Q4 2021 | 40.291 | -15.263 | -19.019 | -1.43 | 4.58 |
Q1 2022 | 47.784 | 5.442 | -34.986 | -1.198 | 17.043 |
Q2 2022 | 49.081 | 2.974 | -35.022 | -1.186 | 15.848 |
Q3 2022 | 53.546 | -18.491 | -38.401 | -1.135 | -4.48 |
Q4 2022 | 53.965 | -6.693 | -30.129 | -1.318 | 15.825 |
Q1 2023 | 56.099 | -1.481 | -39.592 | -1.19 | 13.836 |
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- 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.
normal
| Direct Investment | Portfolio Investment | Other Investment | Reserve Assets | Balance on Financial Account |
Q4 2020 | 4.172 | 16.581 | -10.78 | 0.396 | 10.371 |
Q1 2021 | 17.099 | 8.338 | -14.651 | 0.173 | 10.959 |
Q2 2021 | 4.815 | -4.667 | 22.982 | 0.072 | 23.203 |
Q3 2021 | 7.198 | -10.624 | 13.61 | 4.081 | 14.264 |
Q4 2021 | 24.134 | 0.872 | -13.21 | 0.654 | 12.45 |
Q1 2022 | 9.8 | -36.091 | 37.62 | -0.129 | 11.2 |
Q2 2022 | 24.456 | -32.643 | 14.707 | 0.033 | 6.553 |
Q3 2022 | -49.11 | -47.852 | 76.996 | 0.603 | -19.364 |
Q4 2022 | 18.511 | -20.69 | 25.988 | -0.022 | 23.787 |
Q1 2023 | 7.923 | -27.242 | 29.259 | 0.011 | 9.951 |
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- 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
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