BRATISLAVA, February 23, (WEBNOVINY) – The deficit on Slovakia’s current account of payment balance increased by over EUR 226 million from November to EUR 307.9 million in December of last year. In yearly terms, the gap in December 2010 was narrower by over EUR 205 million. This stems from information published by the National Bank of Slovakia.
All components of the current account contributed to the deficit in December. The monthly deterioration stems in particular from the expected change of November trade surplus into a deficit, which was caused to a great extent by seasonal influences. The trade balance was at negative EUR 192.9 million in late December, compared with November surplus of EUR 46.3 million. In yearly terms, the December trade gap more than tripled.
The balance of current transfers moderately deteriorated, too, which was connected with a decline of EU transfers. After November surplus of EUR 15.8 million, transfers in December posted a gap of EUR 31.3 million. In contrary, the development of the balance of services and revenues improved from the previous month and partly offset the increase of the current account deficit. The balance of services climbed to a surplus of EUR 14.3 million from November deficit of EUR 40.1 million. The balance of receipts reduced the deficit of EUR 103.3 million to EUR 98 million in the last month of 2010.
In December, the dynamics of exports slowed following a growth in November. It fell 1.4 points to 22.2 percent. The m/m considerable decline in the volume of exports is a result of the seasonal factor, when December is one of the slowest months of the year for exports.
Similarly, imports in the twelfth month changed only moderately in month-on-month terms, by 0.6 points to 25.7 percent. The fact that dynamics of exports fell more than imports dynamics resulted in the expected m/m trade balance deterioration. The central bank concluded that the results were worse than its expectation on the account of considerably higher volumes of imports and exports.
SITA
