Balance of Payments Surplus Continues to Grow

The current account surplus increased by EUR 152 million to EUR 547 million in June from EUR 396 million in May, according to the latest preliminary data released by the National Bank of Hungary (MNB).

Due to an increase of EUR 510 million in export receipts and EUR 110 million in import payments, the external current account, i.e. the external trade surplus, rose by EUR 400 million to EUR 1.702 billion, of which EUR 389 million was due to the goods trade surplus.

Meanwhile, net primary income outflows increased by EUR 223 million in June compared to May, but just under EUR 5 million of this increase came from repatriated profits on income from foreign direct investment in working capital, while portfolio investment income outflows were EUR 246 million higher than in May.

The capital account balance was EUR 59 million lower in June than in the previous month, the bulk of which, EUR 56 million, resulted from a decrease in capital transfers from the European Union.

The so-called external financing capacity, accepted as an overall indicator of the country's external financial position, improved by EUR 93 million to EUR 725 million in June compared to May.