The Current Account of the Balance of Payments Recorded a Surplus of €5.23 Billion in the Third Quarter, Record Tourism Revenue

Croatia recorded a surplus of €5.78 billion on the current and capital account of the balance of payments in the third quarter of this year, which is €1.41 billion more favorable than in the same period last year, primarily due to record tourism revenues of €9.12 billion, according to HNB data.

– The balance of the current and capital account of the balance of payments during the third quarter of 2023 amounted to €5.78 billion, which is a noticeable increase compared to €4.37 billion from the same quarter of the previous year, state analysts from the Croatian National Bank (HNB) in a statistical release on the balance of payments.

Central bank statistics show that the current account of the balance of payments recorded a surplus of €5.23 billion in the third quarter, which is €1.24 billion or nearly 31 percent higher than in the third quarter of last year.

This was primarily due to record revenues from foreign guests, which also influenced the increase in the positive balance on the services sub-account, while the goods sub-account continues to show a significant deficit, although it is smaller than in the same period last year.

Thus, the goods sub-account balance is in the red by €4.28 billion, which is nearly 13 percent less than in the third quarter of last year. – The negative balance on the goods sub-account improved by €634 million compared to the same quarter of the previous year, although both export and import values decreased (exports decreased by 19.8 percent, and imports by 16.6 percent), emphasize analysts from the central bank.

Travel revenues in the third quarter increased by 7.7 percent

On the services sub-account, the surplus in the third quarter of this year amounted to €9.28 billion, which is €573 million or 6.6 percent more than in the same period last year.

This increase in the positive balance on the services sub-account is the result of record tourism revenues, which amounted to €9.12 billion in the third quarter of this year, which is €654 million or 7.7 percent more than in the third quarter of last year.

HNB statistics show an even more pronounced growth in tourism revenues in the first nine months of this year. Thus, revenues from foreign tourists, according to data from the central bank tables, amounted to €12.97 billion in the first nine months of this year, which is €1.33 billion or 11.4 percent more than in the period from January to September last year.

Favorable balance of capital transactions due to higher disbursements from EU funds

Analysts from the central bank note in their commentary that the balances of primary and secondary income did not change significantly in the third quarter of this year.

Thus, the primary income sub-account recorded a deficit of €357 million, which is a less favorable balance than in the third quarter of last year, when the deficit was €328 million.

On the secondary income account, however, a positive balance of €584 million was recorded, which is €59 million more favorable than in the third quarter of last year.

The positive balance of capital transactions is more favorable by €174 million compared to the same quarter of the previous year, primarily due to higher disbursements to end users from EU funds, state analysts from HNB. Namely, the capital transactions account in the third quarter of this year had a surplus of €551 million, while at the same time last year it amounted to €377 million.

In the statistical release on the balance of payments, analysts from the central bank also highlight positive trends when observing the last four quarters – “the cumulative surplus on the current and capital account in the period up to the end of September 2023 amounted to €2.76 billion or 3.7 percent of GDP, while for the entire year 2022, for comparison, a deficit of €226 million was recorded, or minus 0.3 percent of GDP.”