ATHENS: Greece’s current account surplus shrank in July compared to the same month a year earlier, due to an increased trade deficit as a result of higher imports and a lower services surplus, the Bank of Greece said on Tuesday.
The data showed the surplus reached 1.433 billion euros ($1.60 billion) from 2.507 billion euros in July 2015. Tourism revenues fell slightly to 2.85 billion euros from 2.95 billion in the same month a year earlier.
“The deficit of the balance of goods doubled mainly on account of a significant rise in imports, compared with July 2015, which had registered a sharp drop year-on-year due to the imposition of capital controls,” the Bank of Greece said. It said imports in July this year remained well below their levels in 2014 and 2013.
In 2015 as a whole, Greece posted a current account deficit of 7.5 million euros, helped by higher tourism revenues – its biggest foreign currency earner.
