Ireland’s Balance of Payments showed a current account surplus of €35.5bn in Quarter 2 (Q2) 2024 (see table 1.3).
Merchandise exports were €79.3bn in Q2 2024, an increase of €5.2bn compared with Q2 2023. Merchandise imports were €39.8bn in Q2 2024 up €1.4bn compared with the same period in 2023.
Service exports at €130.1bn, grew by €32.5bn compared with Q2 2023. Service imports at €105.7bn were up €15.2bn over the same period in 2023.
The trade balance at €64.0bn, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, increased by €21bn in Q2 2024 over the same period in 2023.
The overall income balance for Q2 2024 was -€28.5bn, an increase of €3.1bn compared with the same period in 2023.
Direct investment into Ireland fell by €21.7bn in Q2 2024 while direct investment abroad increased by €14bn in the quarter (see table 1.4).
The stock of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) assets held in Ireland by foreign investors fell by €37.4bn in Q2 2024 to €1,150.4bn. FDI assets held abroad by Irish investors were up by €37.3bn in the quarter to €1,286.7bn (see table 7.2).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) today (5 September 2024) published the International Accounts results for Quarter 2 (Q2) 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 €35.5 billion in flows with the rest of the world in Q2 2024, an improvement of €24.1 billion compared with the surplus of €11.3 billion recorded in Q2 2023. The Merchandise balance improved by €3.7 billion in Q2 2024 compared with the same quarter in 2023 while the Services balance improved by €17.3 billion. Net outflows of multinational profits were €22.9 billion in the quarter, a decrease of €3.6 billion on the net outflows recorded in Q2 2023 (which improves the Current Account balance).”
More commentary is available in the Press Release also issued today Press Statement.