Ireland’s Balance of Payments showed a current account surplus of €22.6bn in Quarter 1 (Q1) 2024.
Merchandise exports were €75.5bn in Q1 2024, a decrease of €13.5bn compared with Q1 2023. Merchandise imports were €36.7bn in Q1 2024 up €3.7bn compared with the same period in 2023.
Service exports at €102.9bn, grew by €19.7bn compared with Q1 2023. Service imports at €95.1bn were up €11.1bn over the same period in 2023.
The trade balance at €46.6bn, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, decreased by €8.6bn in Q1 2024 over the same period in 2023.
The overall income balance for Q1 2024 was -€24bn, an increase of €17.6bn compared with the same period in 2023.
Direct investment into Ireland fell by €1.6bn in Q1 2024 while direct investment abroad rose by €15bn in the quarter.
The stock of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) assets held in Ireland by foreign investors fell by €85.2bn in Q1 2024 to €1,190.9bn. FDI assets held abroad by Irish investors were up by €55.7bn in the quarter to €1,265.1bn.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) today (06 June 2024) published the International Accounts results for Quarter 1 (Q1) 2024.
Commenting on the release, Chris Sibley, Assistant Director General with responsibility for Economic Statistics said:
“In the International Accounts , the Current Account of the Balance of Payments recorded a surplus of €22.6 billion in flows with the rest of the world in Q1 2024, an improvement of €9.0 billion compared with the surplus of €13.6 billion recorded in Q1 2023. The Merchandise balance dis-improved by €17.2 billion in Q1 2024 compared with the same quarter in 2023 while the Services balance improved by €8.6 billion. Net outflows of multinational profits were €27.2 billion in the quarter, a decrease of €8.2 billion on the net outflows recorded in Q1 2023 (which improves the Current Account balance). Net Portfolio Investment Income was €0.2 billion in the quarter, an increase of €6.4 billion compared with Q1 2023. Net Other Investment Income was €6.4 billion in the quarter, a rise of €2.9 billion compared with the same quarter of 2023.
Today’s International Accounts publication includes a table of Current Account transactions with the UK . The results show a surplus of €2.2 billion for Trade in Goods & Services with the UK in Q1 2024,little changed on the Q1 2023 trade balance. The trade surplus in Q1 2024 was offset by a deficit of €3.1 billion for net income flows, giving an overall Current Account deficit with the UK of €0.9 billion in the quarter.”
More commentary is available in the Press Release also issued today Press Statement.