Finland: Current account balance swings to a deficit in December
According to Statistics Finland, the current account was in a deficit of EUR 0.06 billion in December, a deterioration compared to November’s surplus of EUR 0.09 billion. However, compared to the same month of the previous year, in which the deficit was EUR 0.16 billion, this marked an improvement.
In the 12 months leading up to December, the current account surplus widened to EUR 1.5 billion. This was higher than November’s cumulative 12-month surplus of EUR 1.4 billion.
The trade surplus narrowed in December against the previous month, recording net inflows worth EUR 26 million compared to November’s revised EUR 183 million (previously reported: EUR 181 million surplus). On an annual basis, exports grew 2.7% in December, down from the revised growth of 12.8% in November (previously reported: +12.1% year-on-year). There was a 4.1% contraction in imports in December, a swing from November’s revised 9.0% growth (previously reported: +8.2% yoy).