Balance of Payments statistics for April 2024 are published

According to the publication calendar, CBK published the statistics: Balance of Payments (BP) for April 2024, International Investment Position and External Debt of Kosovo for Q1 of 2024

https://bqk-kos.org/statistikat/serite-kohore

Balance of payments as of April 2024 is characterized by a current account deficit in the amount of 435.46 million euros, which shows an increase of 122.96 million euros compared to the same period last year.

Trade balance in goods as of April 2024 marked a deficit in the amount of 1,441.59 million euros, which is 11.72% higher compared to the same period of the previous year. The export for this period reached the value of 287.18 million euros, which represents a slight decrease of 1.05%, while the import of goods marked an increase of 9.79%, reaching the value of 1,728.77 million euros.

Services account, which constantly has a positive balance, as of April 2024 marked the value of 358.02 million euros, which is 0.58% higher compared to the same period last year.

Primary income as of April 2024 recorded a positive balance of 46.55 million euros, which in the same period last year stood at 17.94 million euros and shows an increase of nearly 160%.

Secondary income remains the main contributor to mitigating the current account deficit. As of April 2024, this account recorded a positive balance of 601.56 million euros, which represents almost the same value compared to the same period last year.

Remittances are the main category within secondary income, whose value as of April 2024 was 394.24 million euros, which represents an increase of 9.73 million euros or 2.53% compared to the same period of 2023.

Assets in the financial account as of April 2024 have recorded a negative balance of 28.56 million euros. Meanwhile, financial liabilities have recorded a positive balance in the amount of 260.07 million euros.

Direct investments in Kosovo as of April 2024 stood at 269.58 million euros, which represents an increase of 5.50% compared to the same period last year, while direct investments outside Kosovo marked the value of 56.57 million euros.

Reserve assets as of April 2024 have increased to 72.92 million euros, almost the same increase as that of the previous year, which was 72.70 million euros. A contributing factor to the increase in reserve assets is the increase in deposits, which during the period January-April 2024 increased by 143.97 million euros. While investments in securities during this period decreased by 71.05 million euros due to the maturity of some of the securities.

International investments position in Q1 of 2024 was characterized by the increase in the value of international assets for 62.85 million euros and international liabilities for 180.87 million euros. The accumulated value of international assets as of April 2024 was 7.45 billion euros, while the value of liabilities was 9.39 billion euros.

The contributors to the increase of international assets in Q1 of 2024 were the direct investments category by 37.08 million euros, investments in securities by 177.08 million euros and reserve assets by 30.90 million euros. Meanwhile, the category of other investments decreased by 182.21 million euros.

Under the external liabilities, during the Q1 of 2024, foreign direct investments in Kosovo increased by 218.47 million euros, while other investments decreased by 37.60 million euros.

Gross external debt, which includes public and private debt, at the end of the Q1 of 2024 reached the value of 3.84 billion euros, which represents a decrease of 12.18 million euros compared to the previous quarter. The main contributor to the decrease in external debt in Kosovo was the private sector by 17.64 million euros, while the public debt increased by 5.46 million.

The public sector debt at the end of the Q1 of 2024 reached the value of 874.49 million euros, accounting for 22.80% of the total external debt. Most of the public debt consists of the government’s external debt, which at the end of the Q1 of 2024 was 704.41 million euros.

The private sector debt in Q1 of 2024 reached the value of 2.96 billion euros.The participants in private debt are commercial banks (16.13%), direct investment relationship companies (31.15%) and other sectors (52.73%).