The Czech current account deficit widened twofold to CZK 29.1bn (EUR 1.1nn) in the third quarter of 2013 from a revised gap of CZK 14.bn in the previous three months and accounted for 1.7% of the GDP, the central bank said. In an annual basis, the current account gap shrank by 40% from CZK 28.6bn in Q3 2012. 

The trade surplus expanded by 13% on the year to CZK 38.7bn in Q3 as exports increased by 4.8% and imports grew 4.3%. The services surplus, on the other hand, narrowed by 30% y/y CZK 9.8bn mainly due to higher expenditure by Czech nationals on travel abroad, the bank said. The goods and services surplus remained unchanged from last year at 6% of the GDP in Q3.

The income balance ended the third quarter with a deficit of CZK 74.8bn, or by CZK 17bn y/y lower. The deficit on the current transfers account was also smaller than in the same period of 2012 due to an improvement in the balance on transfers from the EU budget (net receipts of CZK 2.3bn) and a fall in the deficit on household transfers, especially under remittances, the bank said.

The capital account ran a surplus of CZK 54.2bn, up by CZK 47.8bn on the year. The financial account registered a net outflow of funds abroad of CZK 33.9bn. According to the central bank’s estimates, the financial account surplus narrowed to 1.4% of GDP on an annual basis in Q3 from 3.3% in Q2. Foreign direct investments witnessed a net outflow of 6.8bn in Q3 with investments in local companies amounting to CZK 2bn and investments by Czech companies abroad totalling CZK 8.8bn.