Poland’s balance of payments in December 2022
NBP data: In December 2022, the current account of the balance of payments posted deficits in the trade in goods account (PLN 12.7bn), the primary income account (PLN 11.4bn) and the secondary income account (PLN 0.4bn), and a surplus in the services account (PLN 12.7bn).
Preliminary data on Poland’s balance of payments in December 2022, released by NBP on 13 February 2023, show a deficit of PLN 11.8bn on the country’s current account. In the corresponding month of 2021, the balance was also negative and stood at PLN 17.9bn.
In December 2022, the value of goods exports amounted to PLN 121.9bn, representing an increase of PLN 14.0bn (i.e. 13.0%) as compared with the corresponding month of 2021. The value of goods imports rose by PLN 16.2bn (i.e. 13.7%) on the December 2021 figure, reaching PLN 134.6bn. The reduced growth rate of the trade in goods in nominal terms was significantly influenced by the smaller number of workdays in December 2022 than in December 2021.
The rise in the value of exports in December 2022 was mostly driven by the sales figures in the motor industry. As in previous months, December 2022 saw a strong rise in the foreign sales of car parts (a marked rise was observed particularly in lithium-ion batteries), delivery vehicles and passenger cars. The growth rate of exports of food and fuels was also high.
The growth rate of imports continued to be influenced mostly by fuels. In December 2022, they accounted for over 70% of the growth in total imports.
Exports of services stood at PLN 37.6bn, representing an increase of PLN 8.1bn (i.e. 27.6%) on the corresponding month of 2021. Imports of services stood at PLN 24.9bn, having increased by PLN 5.5bn (i.e. 28.2%) on the December 2021 figure.
The negative balance of the primary income was primarily determined by foreign direct investors’ income on their equity investment in Polish entities, which amounted to PLN 10.0bn. The balance of the primary income account was also influenced by the payment of income on portfolio investment (PLN 0.9bn) and on other investment (PLN 1.8bn).