Poland’s balance of payments in January 2024
NBP data: In January 2024, the current account of the balance of payments posted surpluses in the services account (PLN 13.4bn) and the trade in goods account (PLN 5.6bn), and a deficit in the primary income account (PLN 12.3bn) and the secondary income account (PLN 1.6bn).
Preliminary data on Poland’s balance of payments in January 2024, released on 15 March 2024, show a surplus of PLN 5.1bn on the country’s current account. In the corresponding month of 2023, the balance was also positive and stood at PLN 10.0bn.
In January 2024, exports and imports of goods continued to decline. According to preliminary estimates, the value of goods exports amounted to PLN 118.3bn, representing an 11.0% decrease on the corresponding month of 2023. The value of goods imports decreased by 10.3% on the January 2023 figure, reaching PLN 112.7bn.
Compared to the corresponding month of 2023, in January 2024 the value of exports declined in all six categories. Similarly to previous months, the biggest decreases were reported by exporters of intermediate goods, investment goods and consumer goods. At the same time, the drop in exports of means of transport deepened, driven by the decline in exports of electric batteries. On the other hand, the exports of delivery trucks and passenger cars – both new and used – and engines.
Compared to January 2023, the value of imports was lower in five categories. The value of fuels imports decreased, mainly due to a sharp drop in prices in year-on-year terms. Large drops in imports were also observed in such categories as intermediate goods and investment goods, whereas the value of imports of means of transport continued at a similar level to January 2023. The growing demand for foreign vehicles was accompanied by a decline in imports of other vehicles.
Exports of services stood at PLN 35.9bn, representing a decrease of PLN 0.3bn (i.e. 0.9%) on the corresponding month of 2023. Imports of services stood at PLN 22.5bn,having increased by PLN 1.2bn (i.e. 5.6%) on the January 2023 figure.
The negative balance of the primary income was primarily determined by foreign direct investors’ income on their equity investments in Polish entities, which amounted to PLN 11.9bn. The balance of the primary income account was also influenced by the payment of income on portfolio investment (PLN 1.6bn) and on other investment (PLN 2.2bn).