It exceeded 16 billion euros the cost of fuel imports last year from 9.3 billion euros in 2020 and 14 billion euros in 2019 according to data from the Bank of Greece for the balance of payments for December 2021. The spike in international fuel prices is expected to have an impact the competitiveness of the economy and cause new inflationary pressures.
In terms of the current account deficit in December 2021, it increased compared to the corresponding month of 2020, due to the deterioration of the goods balance and, to a lesser extent, the
primary income balance, which was partially offset by the improvement in the services and secondary income balances.
In 2021, the current account deficit decreased compared to 2020, due to the increase in the services balance surplus and the improvement in the primary and secondary income balances, which were partially offset by the deterioration of the balance sheet.
In December 2021, the current account deficit increased by 1.1 billion euros compared to the corresponding month of 2020 and amounted to 1.7 billion euros.
In particular, the increase in the goods deficit is due to the increase in imports, which was higher than in exports. Exports increased by 24.1% at current prices (decreased by 1.5% at constant prices) and imports by 44.7% at current prices (17.1% at constant prices). In particular, exports of non-fuel goods increased by 21.4% at current prices (10.4% at constant prices) and imports of non-fuel goods increased by 33.7% at current prices (25.4% at constant prices). ).
The surplus of the services balance doubled as a result of the improvement of all the individual balances (travel, transport and other services). Arrivals of non-resident travelers and related receipts increased significantly (by 294.0% and 406.9% respectively). In particular, receipts and arrivals amounted to 60% and 55% of those of December 2019 respectively. The transport surplus increased, mainly due to the improvement of the maritime transport surplus.
The surplus of the primary income balance recorded a decrease compared to the corresponding month of 2020, due to the decrease in interest, dividends and profits. The surplus of the secondary income balance increased compared to the corresponding month of 2020, mainly due to the increase in the net revenues of the general government.
In 2021, the current account deficit decreased by 356.6 million euros compared to 2020 and amounted to 10.6 billion euros.
The increase in the goods deficit is due to the larger increase in imports compared to exports. More specifically, exports increased by 35.2% at current prices (12.7% at constant prices) and imports increased by 36.4% at current prices (13.6% at constant prices). In particular, at current prices, exports and imports of non-fuel goods increased by 26.9% and 27.7% respectively (20.2% and 24.2% at constant prices).
The increase in the services surplus is almost due exclusively in improving the balance of travel services, which, however, was partially offset by the reduction of the transport surplus. Arrivals of non-resident travelers increased by 99.4% and related receipts by 146.7% compared to 2020, representing 46.9% and 58.6% of the respective levels of 2019.
Net receipts from transfers decreased by 6.0%.
The primary income balance surplus against a deficit in 2020, mainly due to the reduction of net payments for interest, dividends and profits, while the surplus of the secondary income balance more than doubled due to the increase in net government revenues.
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