The flash estimate1 put the Estonian current account at 63 million euros in surplus in August 2017. The surplus on the goods and services account was 116 million euros, which was 38 million euros less than a year earlier. Exports and imports of goods and services were all up in August. Goods exports were up by 6% over the year and imports by 12%, and so the deficit on the goods account increased by 60 million euros over the year to 75 million euros. The surplus on the services account was large in August and stood at 192 million euros, up 22 million euros over the year. Services exports grew by 9% and imports by 6%. The net outflow of investment income and current transfers, or the primary and secondary income accounts, increased by 22 million euros to 53 million euros.
The current and capital accounts were in surplus by a total of 70 million euros, meaning that the Estonian economy was a net lender to the rest of the world, so the country as a whole invested more financial assets abroad than it received from there.
1 The quarterly balance of payments is compiled from a combined system of representative primary data sources, including surveys of companies, while the monthly balance of payments draws from a considerably smaller database. Although the monthly report uses as much of the data available for the month reported as possible, including administrative data sources and reports on international payments, it is subjective to a certain degree, which is why it is called an estimate. Once the quarterly balance of payments is released, the monthly balances of payments are adjusted accordingly. For more on the principles used in compiling the flash estimate, see http://statistika.eestipank.ee/failid/mbo/kiir_mb_eng.html.
Eesti Pank publishes the flash estimate of the balance of payments monthly for the last month but one. Eesti Pank will publish the balance of payments for the third quarter of 2017 on 7 December 2017.
Statistical releases are published by Eesti Pank together with statistical data. The release is independent of economic policy releases and is presented separately from them.
