Current account posts EUR 0.02 bn deficit in December
Current account
The current account posted a deficit of EUR 0.02 bn in December 2007 compared with EUR 0.27 bn in the same period the previous year. For the twelve months January – December 2007, the current account recorded a surplus of EUR 8.20 bn.
In BOP terms, there was a EUR 0.37 bn surplus on goods and a EUR 0.26 bn deficit on services in December.1 The income account posted a surplus of EUR 0.28 bn, and the current transfers account a deficit of EUR 0.41 bn.
Financial account, flows
Capital outflows in December exceeded inflows by EUR 1.51 bn. There was a net inflow of EUR 1.07 bn in direct investment, the stocks of outward and inward direct investment increasing by EUR 0.30 bn and EUR 1.37 bn respectively. Portfolio investment was outward on net, in the amount of EUR 1.78 bn: external assets decreased by EUR 0.32 bn, and liabilities by EUR 2.10 bn. Of the portfolio liabilities, EUR 3.10 bn was attributable to money market instruments. Other investments (loans, deposits, trade credits and other items) recorded a net capital outflow of EUR 0.36 bn.
International investment position, stock
An analysis of Finland’s net international investment position at the end of December shows that Finnish residents' external liabilities were EUR 47.16 bn more than their external assets. External assets totalled EUR 381 bn, while liabilities amounted to EUR 428 bn.
The external liabilities of non-financial corporations, monetary financial institutions (MFIs), central government and local government exceeded their external assets. Equity-related liabilities accounted for most of the debt accumulated by non-financial corporations. In contrast, the external assets of the central bank, other financial institutions, employment pension funds and households exceeded their external liabilities. The external assets of central government were down slightly on the previous month, primarily due to a reduction in deposit assets.
Finland’s net international investment position excluding equity items at the end of December was a positive EUR 11.45 bn.
| Year 2006, EUR million |
November 2007, EUR million |
December 2007, EUR million |
Year 2007, EUR million** | |
| Current account | 7,607 | 1,248 | -18 | 8,202 |
| Goods | 9,133 | 1,005 | 368 | 8,890 |
| Services | -877 | -275 | -258 | -463 |
| Income | 682 | 364 | 277 | 1,106 |
| Transfers | -1,331 | 154 | -407 | -1,331 |
| Capital account* | 178 | – | – | – |
| Financial account | -9,073 | -32 | -1,512 | -9,090 |
| Direct investment | 1,849 | 717 | 1,070 | 28 |
| Portfolio investment | -11,684 | 1,468 | -1,781 | -7,674 |
| Other investment | -2,966 | -2,321 | -361 | -738 |
| Reserve assets | 3,611 | 80 | -149 | -227 |
| Financial derivatives | 117 | 24 | -290 | -479 |
| Errors and omissions | 1,288 | -1,215 | 1,531 | 888 |
The statistics become final more than two years after the end of the reference year.
* Capital account is not estimated monthly. The figures are published first after the yearly data are prepared.
** Preliminary data.
More information
Jaakko Suni tel. +358 10 831 2454, email firstname.surname(at)bof.fi
1 Services account data has been revised back to the year 2000. Further information is provided at
http://www.stat.fi/til/vtp/2006/vtp_2006_2008-01-31_men_003_en.html