27 Jun 2019 15:02

Georgia's current account deficit nearly halved in Q1, came to 6.2% of GDP

TBILISI. June 27 (Interfax) - Georgia's current account deficit in Q1 2019 came to $227 million, a year-on-year decrease of 47.7%, the country's National Bank said.

This represents 6.2% of the country's GDP in the quarter ($3.653 billion).

The figure also decreased by about half quarter-on-quarter.

The trade deficit for goods decreased 18.9% to $798.6 million.

There was surplus of $367.9 million for trade in services (down 4.9%), thanks largely, as in previous years, to tourism, income from which in Q1 totaled $447.1 million (up 0.5%). There were decreases in transport, insurance, and construction.

Current transfers in Q1 fell 8.6% to $311.4 million.

Direct foreign investment fell 6.3% to $281.1 million.

According to the bank's adjusted data, Georgia's current account deficit fell 6.7% in 2018, to $1.245 million (7.6% of GDP).