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Balance of payments of Luxembourg for the first half of 2016
02.10.2016
The Central Bank of Luxembourg (BCL) and STATEC inform that the current account recorded a surplus of 802 million euros for the first half of 2016, compared to 2.012 million during the same period of the previous year, corresponding to a decrease of 1.202 million.
Two facts impact the comparability of half-year figures. Firstly, the revision of the historical series has improved intra-annual distribution of income flows (dividends and interest), resulting in greater volatility of quarterly and semi-annual current account balances. Second, the business model changes in electronic commerce have led to the decrease in net exports of merchanting and imports of certain types of non-financial services, without however significantly impacting the current account balance.
During the first half of 2016, the increase in the services surplus (+454 million euros) was not able to compensate for changes in the opposite direction of the other partial balances. Indeed, the balances of goods, primary and secondary income were all decreasing. The surplus of non-financial services went up by 864 million euros during the first semester of 2016 (evolution mainly related to the decrease in imports, as described in the previous paragraph), while the surplus of financial services was down by 410 million. This decline is mainly explained by the decrease in net assets of investment funds.
In the financial account, direct investments recorded net inflows of 38 billion euros in the first semester of 2016. These inflows were triggered largely by intercompany loans repayments. Portfolio investments and financial derivatives recorded respectively inflows of 27 billion euros and 11 billion euros in the first semester of 2016. All these inflows were largely compensated by outflows of 77 billion euros in the other investments (loans and traditional deposits).
Detailed statistical tables are available on BCL’s website (www.bcl.lu) as well as on the website of STATEC (www.statistiques.lu).
Table: Balance of payments of Luxembourg
For further information, please contact :
- STATEC at 247-84362 or 84393,
- BCL at 4774-4265 or 4243.
