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Balance of payments of Luxembourg during the first semester of 2024
07.10.2024
The Banque centrale du Luxembourg (BCL) and STATEC inform that, according to the first provisional results, the current account for the first semester of 2024 showed a surplus of 4 billion euro, i.e. an increase of 1.9 billion euro compared to the same period of the previous year.
The goods surplus stood at 267 million euro in the first semester of 2024, compared to a deficit amounted to 1.3 billion euro one year earlier, consisting of an increase of exports of goods (8%) as well as an important decrease in imports (-5%). On one hand, net exports from goods under merchanting (purchases of goods abroad and their resale abroad) expanded by 1 billion euro. On the other hand, general merchandise (i.e. excluding merchanting) exports stabilized (-0.7%), while imports shrank even more (-5%).
The balance of international trade in services grew by 15% in the first semester of 2024 (1,8 billion euro) compared to the same semester of the previous year, due to the fact that exports rose by 4%, much more than imports with 1.5%. At the level of sub-items, evolutions were similar. Trade in non-financial services increased for exports (2.3%), much stronger than for imports (0.8%). International trade in financial services, meanwhile, progressed with 5.4% for exports and 2.3% for imports. This evolution is mainly driven by an increase in average assets managed by investment funds during the period under review (5%) compared to the same semester of the previous year.
In the financial account, direct investments were positive in the first semester of 2024, both for assets (42 billion euro) and for liabilities (7 billion euro), in comparison with significant disinvestments during of the first semester of 2023.
Regarding portfolio investments, transactions of Luxembourg equities recorded net inflows, reaching 86 billion euro in the first semester of 2024, compared to net inflows of 65 billion euro in the first semester of 2023.
On their side, transactions in foreign equity securities resulted in significant disinvestments (-24.5 billion euro) compared to net purchases (7 billion euro) in the first semester of 2023. In addition, foreign debt securities continued to be the subject of net acquisitions in the first semester of 2024, amounting to 102.5 billion euro. Indeed, investors partially reallocated their portfolios towards debt securities at the expense of equities. Finally, Luxembourg debt securities recorded net inflows of 8 billion euro, while the latter recorded net purchases (4.5 billion euro) during the first semester of the previous year.
Detailed statistical tables are available on BCL’s website (www.bcl.lu) as well as on the website of STATEC (www.statistiques.lu).
