High trade deficit continues in Kosovo

Periskopi

19 September 2019, 12:29(7 years ago)

The Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo has announced that Kosovo's foreign sector was characterised by an increase in the current and capital account deficit to 551.7m euros (8.2 per cent of BPV), an annual increase of 39.7 per cent, largely as a result of the increase in the deficit of goods, as well as balance reduction [...]

The Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo has announced that Kosovo's foreign sector was characterised by increased current and capital account deficit to 551.7m euros (8.2 per cent of BPV), an annual increase of 39.7 per cent, largely as a result of increased goods deficit, and a positive balance of services.

On the other hand, the positive balances of the primary and secondary income account marked growth. The decline in goods exports, as well as significant import growth, has influenced the deficit in goods trade to mark growth of 11.3 per cent and reach about 3.0 billion euros (44.6 per cent of BPV)”, the BQC report says, followed. RTK.

According to the CEC, the accepted remittances in Kosovo, which simultaneously represent the largest category under the secondary income account, reached 800.5m euros, representing an annual growth of 5.4 per cent.

“Under the financial account, Direct Foreign Investment (IHD) in Kosovo marked an annual decline of 16.3 per cent and reached the value of 213.7m euros”, the BEC report stressed.

The annual increase in the total assets of Kosovo's financial system of 6.9 percent in 2018 is attributed mainly to the expansion of banking sector assets, followed by the microfinancial sector. The banking sector's assets in 2018 marked annual growth of 8.2 percent, amounting to 4.19 billion euros. The growth of sector assets during 2018 is attributed mainly to the positive dynamics with which credit activity was characterised, activity that was supported by both improving banking financing conditions and increasing loan demand.

“Other than that, credit bids were positively affected by competition pressures, favourable position of liquidity and continued improvement in credit portfolio quality. For the third year in a row, bank - sector loans were marked by a double annual increase of 10.9 percent in 2018 and reached 2.76 billion euros. In the same period, deposits in Kosovo's banking sector amounted to 3.36 billion euros and marked annual growth of 8.7 percent (6.8 percent in 2017)”, the CEC report says.