Current account surplus 63 b.kr. in Q3/2019 – net IIP positive by 714 b.kr.
The current account surplus measured 63 b.kr. in Q3/2019, as compared with a surplus of 73.8 b.kr. in the same quarter of 2018. There was a deficit on goods trade in the amount of 45.9 b.kr and a 101.3 b.kr. surplus on services trade, as well as a 13.4 b.kr. surplus on primary income and a 5.9 b.kr. deficit on secondary income (see table below).
This is included in new information published on the Central Bank of Iceland website, showing the preliminary balance of payments in Q3/2019 and the international investment position of the economy at the end of the quarter.
According to the preliminary figures, foreign assets totalled 3,870 b.kr. at the end of the quarter, while foreign liabilities totalled 3,156 b.kr. The net international investment position was therefore positive by 714 b.kr., or 24.5% of GDP, and improved by 91 b.kr., or 3.1% of GDP during the quarter. Net financial transactions improved the IIP by 115 b.kr. during the quarter, owing mainly to residents purchases of foreign securities in the amount of 80 b.kr. Total foreign assets increased by 74 b.kr. as a result of the transactions, and foreign liabilities declined by 40 b.kr. Exchange rate movements and price changes had a negative impact on the external position in the amount of 6 b.kr., owing mainly to a 4% appreciation of the króna against most other major currencies in terms of the trade-weighted index. Foreign securities markets changed little during the quarter, declining by 0.1%.
No. 24/2019
2 December 2019
See press release no. 24/2019, 2 December 2019: Current account surplus 63 b.kr. in Q3/2019 – net IIP positive by 714 b.kr.