01 June 2012

Balance of payments in the first quarter of 2012 and the external position

The Central Bank of Iceland has published on its website the preliminary statistics for the balance of payments in the first quarter of 2012, and for the external position at the end of the quarter.

The current account balance was negative by 43.1 b.kr. in the first quarter, as opposed to 46.7 b.kr. in the preceding quarter. The goods account showed a surplus of 18.5 b.kr., and the services account was negative by 5.1 b.kr. The balance on income, however, was negative by 56.5 b.kr.

As before, the deficit in the balance on income during the quarter can be attributed largely to financial institutions in winding-up proceedings. Expenditures due to these institutions totalled 34.4 b.kr., while revenues were 4.1 b.kr. Therefore, the balance on income excluding deposit institutions in winding-up proceedings was negative by 26.2 b.kr., and the current account balance was negative in the amount of 12.7 b.kr.

External assets totalled 4,729 b.kr. at the end of the quarter, while external liabilities totalled 13,896 b.kr. Thus the net external position was negative by 9,167 b.kr., and net liabilities declined by 40 b.kr. quarter-on-quarter. Excluding the financial institutions undergoing winding-up proceedings, assets totalled 2,897 b.kr. and liabilities 3,681 b.kr., yielding a net balance of -784 b.kr. 
 
Press release no. 21/2012, 1 June 2012: Balance of payments in the first quarter of 2012 and the external position (pdf)

Further information can be obtained from Ríkarður Bergstað Ríkarðsson and Pétur Örn Sigurðsson at the Central Bank of Iceland Statistics and IT Department, tel. +354 569-9600
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