Ireland’s Balance of Payments showed a current account surplus of €15.8bn in Quarter 2 (Q2) 2023.
Merchandise exports were €76.4bn in Q2 2023, a decrease of €9bn compared with Q2 2022. Merchandise imports were €37.9bn in Q2 2023, up €0.5bn compared with the same period in 2022.
Service exports at €90.7bn, grew by €7.5bn compared with Q2 2022. Service imports at €83.3bn were up €1.4bn over the same period in 2022.
The trade balance at €45.9bn, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, was down by €3.3bn in Q2 2023 over the same period in 2022.
The overall income balance for Q2 2023 was -€30.1bn an increase of €5.3bn compared with the same period in 2022.
Direct investment into Ireland decreased by €40.8bn in Q2 2023 while direct investment abroad fell by €36.9bn in the quarter.
The stock of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) assets held in Ireland by foreign investors fell by €38.2bn in Q2 2023 to €1,221.7bn. FDI assets held abroad by Irish investors was down by €16.4bn in the quarter to €1,140.2bn.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) today (01 September 2023) published the International Accounts results for Quarter 2, (Q2) 2023.
Commenting on the release, Jennifer Banim, Assistance Director General with responsibility for Economic Statistics said:
“In the International Accounts, the Current Account of the Balance of Payments recorded a surplus of €15.8bn in flows with the rest of the world in April, May, and June (Q2) 2023, an improvement of €2.0bn compared with the surplus of €13.8bn in Q2 2022. The Merchandise balance dis-improved by €9.5bn in Q2 2023 compared to the same quarter in 2022 while the Services balance improved by €6.2bn. Net outflows of multinational profits were €24.4bn in the quarter, a fall of €5.2bn on Q2 2022 levels.”
For more commentary see Press Statement.