Belarus posts $1.8 bln current account deficit for H1

MINSK. Sept 18 (Interfax) - Belarus had a current account deficit of $1.54 billion for January-June 2023, compared with a surplus of $373.1 million in the same period of last year, the National Bank said in a report.

There was a surplus of $206.4 million or 1.2% of GDP for Q2 2023 and a deficit of $1.74 billion or 10.2% of GDP for Q1 2023.

There was a surplus of $166.4 million in H1 2023 for trade in goods and services, down 93.3% year-on-year, with a deficit of $63.4 million for trade in goods and a surplus of $229.8 million for services.

There was a primary income deficit of $2.24 billion in H1 2023, down 14.8% year-on-year, and a secondary income surplus of $534.9 million, up 2.9%.

Net borrowing was $693 million, compared with net lending of $871.6 million a year previously. Net incoming foreign direct investment was $2.14 billion, up 20.4% from a year previously, and net inflow of portfolio investment $483 million. Compared with net outflow of $596.2 million. Net outflow of other investment fell 6% to $1.92 billion.

Belarus had a current account surplus of $2.52 billion or 3.4% of GDP for 2022, up 16.7% from 2021.