Bank of Greece Announces Deficit Reduction

Claims to have made a eighty three percent decrease.

The Bank of Greece (BoG) announced on Monday that the current account balance showed a deficit of €274 million, down by €1.3 billion or 82.8 percent year-on-year.

The trade deficit narrowed by €356 million, as a result of a €375 million decrease in the trade deficit excluding oil and ships, as well as a €200 million decline in the net import bill for ships. By contrast, the net oil import bill increased by €219 million or 40.7 percent, partly offsetting this improvement. The trade deficit excluding oil and ships shrank due to the considerable reduction of the import bill by €368 million or 16.2 percent, whereas export receipts rose by a mere 0.7 percent.