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Balance of payments of Luxembourg during the first three quarters of year 2021
04.01.2022
The Banque centrale du Luxembourg (BCL) and STATEC inform that, according to the first provisional results, the current account for the first three quarters of 2021 showed a surplus of 1 655 million euros, a decrease of 1 561 million compared to the same period of the previous year.
The goods surplus stood at 1 135 million euros and fell slightly in the first three quarters of 2021 (-260 million). Both exports and imports of goods, however, showed significant increases of 9%, respectively 12%. First, net exports from goods under merchanting (purchases of goods abroad and their resale abroad) increased by 13% (+234 million euros). For general merchandise (i.e. excluding merchanting), exports went up 9% (+1 334 million euros), while imports increased by 12% (+1 828 million euros).
The balance of international trade in services increased by 10% in the first three quarters of 2021 (+1 637 million euros), due to the fact that exports and imports have increased at a sustained pace, e.g 10% each. At the level of sub-items however, evolutions were more contrasted. Trade in non-financial services increased for exports (+4%) and imports (+3%). International trade in financial services, meanwhile, posted strong growth, with +16% for exports and +19% for imports. This evolution was driven mainly by the significant appreciation in assets managed by investment funds during the period under review (+13%).
In the financial account, during the first three quarters of 2021, direct investment flows were still characterized by disinvestment operations for both assets (-118 billion euros) and liabilities (-106 billion euros). These operations concerned a small number of SOPARFIs that continued restructuring, ceasing or relocating their activities.
Regarding portfolio investments, following the improvement in the financial markets, transactions in Luxembourg equities (largely Investments Funds shares), resulted in net inflows of 339 billion euros during the first three quarters of 2021, compared with net inflows of 135 billion euros in the same period in 2020. On the other hand, Luxembourg debt securities continued to experience net sales, reaching 23 billion euros during the first three quarters of 2021. Transactions in foreign equity securities resulted in net purchases of 173 billion euros during the first three quarters of 2021, compared to net purchases of 3 billion euros in the same quarters of 2020. Foreign debt securities, for their part, underwent net purchases, amounting to 103 billion euros during the first three quarters of 2021, i.e an amount almost identical to that recorded over the same period in 2020.
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
