Ireland’s Balance of Payments showed a current account surplus of €23 billion in Quarter 3 (Q3) 2024 (see table 1.3).
Merchandise exports were €82.5 billion in Q3 2024, an increase of €11.1 billion compared with Q3 2023. Merchandise imports were €38.7 billion in Q3 2024 up €4.1 billion compared with the same period in 2023.
Service exports at €115 billion, grew by €13.6 billion compared with Q3 2023. Service imports at €105.1 billion were up €14.5bn over the same period in 2023.
The trade balance at €53.7 billion, which is all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, increased by €6.1 billion in Q3 2024 over the same period in 2023.
The overall income balance for Q3 2024 was -€30.7 billion, a decrease of €1.7 billion compared with the same period in 2023.
Direct investment into Ireland increased by €11.3 billion in Q3 2024 while direct investment abroad rose by €7.6 billion in the quarter (See Table 1.4).
The stock of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) assets held in Ireland by foreign investors fell by €89.8 billion in Q3 2024 to €1,060.6 billion. FDI assets held abroad by Irish investors were down by €107.7 billion in the quarter to €1,179 billion (See Table 7.2).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) today (05 December 2024) published the International Accounts results for Quarter 3 (Q3) 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 €23 billion in flows with the rest of the world in Q3 2024, an improvement of €4.3 billion compared with the surplus of €18.6 billion recorded in Q3 2023. The Merchandise balance improved by €7.0 billion in Q3 2024 compared with the same quarter in 2023 while the Services balance disimproved by €0.9 billion. Net outflows of multinational profits were €28.6 billion in the quarter, an increase of €3.3 billion on the net outflows recorded in Q3 2023 (which dis-improves the Current Account balance).
Today’s International Accounts release includes a table of Current Account transactions with the United Kingdom (UK). The results show a surplus of €3.9 billion for Trade in Goods & Services with the UK in Q3 2024, up €1.2 billion on the Q3 2023 trade balance. The trade surplus in Q3 2024 was offset by a deficit of €9.1 billion for net income flows, giving an overall Current Account deficit with the UK of €5.2 billion in the quarter.”
More commentary is available in the Press Release also issued today.