Greece Current Account Swings To Surplus In January

(RTTNews) - Greece's current account turned to a surplus in January from a year ago, mainly due to an improvement in the secondary income account, data from the Bank of Greece showed on Friday.

The current account balance of the country turned to a surplus of EUR 1.76 billion from a deficit of EUR 161.5 million in the corresponding month last year.

The visible trade deficit rose to EUR 2.69 billion from EUR 2.47 billion last year, reflecting a larger drop in exports than in imports.

Meanwhile, the surplus in the services balance rose to EUR 437.1 million from EUR 289.2 billion a year ago.

The primary income surplus shrank to EUR 412.9 million from EUR 517.0 million last year.

The secondary income balance registered a surplus of EUR 3.5 billion in January, up markedly from EUR 1.5 billion.

At the start of the year, the capital account balance showed a shortfall of EUR 166.9 million, while the financial account surplus rose to EUR 2.0 billion.