Budget, Estonia, Financial Services, Statistics

The surplus of the goods and services account was 139 mln euros, 36 mln euros bigger than in the same month a year ago. That the increase in the export of goods, 12%, was faster than the 9% rise in imports reduced the deficit of the goods account to 33 mln euros.

One factor that raised activity levels in the external economy was that there were more working days in August 2016 than there were in August 2015. Both the exports and imports of services were up 8% and the surplus of the services account widened to 172 mln euros.

Exports of services were brought down by transport services and boosted by travel services and other services, while imports of all the main types of services increased. The net outflow on the primary and secondary income accounts totaled 41 mln euros, five mln euros more than in the same month last year.

The sum total of the current and capital accounts was 110 mln euros in August. This means that the Estonian economy was a net lender to the rest of the world, that is, the country as a whole invested more resources abroad than it received from there.

The central bank publishes once every month a flash estimate of the current account in the month before last. Current account data for the third quarter of 2016 will be published on Dec. 9, 2016.