02 September 2013
Balance of payments in the second quarter of 2013 and the external position
The Central Bank of Iceland has published on its website the preliminary statistics for the balance of payments in the second quarter of 2013, and for the external position at the end of the quarter.The current account balance was negative by 10.7 b.kr. during the quarter, as opposed to a positive balance of 3.9 b.kr. in the preceding quarter. The goods account showed a deficit of 2.2 b.kr., and the services account was positive by 20.1 b.kr. The balance on income was negative by 28.6 b.kr. The current account balance excluding deposit institutions in winding-up proceedings was positive by 0.5 b.kr., as opposed to a surplus of 15.4 b.kr. in the preceding quarter.
As before, the income account deficit is due largely to the deposit institutions in winding-up proceedings. Calculated expenditures due to these institutions totalled 16.5 b.kr., while revenues were 5.3 b.kr. The negative effect of deposit institutions in winding-up proceedings on the balance on income totalled 11.3 b.kr. The balance on income excluding these institutions was therefore negative by 17.4 b.kr.
External assets totalled 4,671 b.kr. at the end of the quarter, while external liabilities totalled 12,556 b.kr. Thus the net external position was negative by 7,885 b.kr., and net liabilities declined by approximately 164 b.kr. quarter-on-quarter. Excluding the financial institutions undergoing winding-up proceedings, assets totalled 2,633 b.kr. and liabilities 3,097 b.kr., yielding a net balance of -464 b.kr. Net liabilities declined by 21.5 b.kr. between quarters.
Underlying international investment position
An analysis of the underlying external position of the Icelandic economy has been published on the Central Bank of Iceland website today. See press release 28/2013
See the full press release here: BoP in the second quarter of 2013 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 Department, tel. +354 569-9600.
No. 27/2013
2 September 2013