Balance of Payments of the Republic of Lithuania for Q2 2022

Compared to Q1 2022, the deficit on the current account balance (CAB) widened by 13.6% to €1.0 billion, or 6.4% of the gross domestic product (GDP). The deficit on the CAB was determined by a growth in foreign trade and primary income balance deficits, which were not offset by the surplus on the balances of services and secondary income. Compared to Q1 2022, imports of goods, which grew faster (9.7%) than exports (6.0%), contributed to a 33.4% widening of the foreign trade deficit, which amounted to €2.0 billion. At the same time, the primary income deficit rose by 20.4% and stood at €813.6 million. This change was mainly due to a widening of the deficit on the investment income, the increase of which was driven by dividends paid to foreign investors by entities conducting business in Lithuania, a drop in Lithuanian reinvestment abroad and the balance of other primary income which turned from surplus to deficit. Compared to the previous quarter, the growth in export and import of services by 15.4% and 6.9% respectively resulted in the surplus on the balance of services (31.7%) and stood at €1.6 billion. Among services, the largest increase (39.0%) was recorded in the balance of transport services, which amounted to €953.8 million. A year ago, the deficit of the CAB was much smaller at €119.8 million, or 0.9% of the GDP (see Chart 1);

the surplus on the capital account increased by 88.4%, compared to the previous period, and amounted to €208.9 million, or 1.3% of GDP. This reflects higher inflows from the European Union structural support funds dedicated to financing investment projects;

over the reporting period, the positive net flow of financial account investment amounted to €145.3 million, or 0.9% of the GDP (see Chart 2). This was driven by the positive net flow of portfolio investments, which were not offset by the negative net flows of direct or other investments and the reduced official reserve assets;

the net international investment position was negative and amounted to €3.8 billion, or 6.3% of the GDP at the end of Q2 2022;

at the end of Q2 2022, Lithuania’s gross external debt stood at €42.0 billion, or 69.6% of the GDP, while the net external debt amounted to -€3.2 billion, or 5.3% of the GDP, i.e. Lithuania’s assets abroad were higher than its liabilities abroad. A year ago Lithuania’s gross external debt amounted to €39.0 billion, or 75.2% of the GDP, while the net external debt amounted to -€1.3 billion, or 2.6% of the GDP.

Chart 1. CAB and its composite flows as a percentage of GDP

Chart 2. Net financial account investment flows as a percentage of GDP

It should be noted that, when calculating the balance of payments data for Q2 2022, the data series for quarterly and monthly balance of payments and international investment position from 2017 was revised. 
Detailed data on the country’s balance of payments and international investment position as well as external debt is available on the Bank of Lithuania website (under External statistics).
You can use the tool My Data Sets to create your own data sets, which are saved in your account and automatically updated as soon as they are published.

Download in PDF (89.3 KB download icon)

Statistics, External statistics