Finland: Current account deficit widens in May
The current account deficit grew to EUR 0.6 billion in May, increasing from the EUR 0.2 billion shortfall recorded in April 2020 and contrasting the EUR 0.2 billion surplus clocked in May 2019.
In the 12 months leading up to May, the current account balance logged a surplus of EUR 0.7 billion, more than halving April’s EUR 1.5 billion surfeit and marking only the second surplus recorded for a 12-month period since September 2011.
The merchandise trade balance came in at a EUR 0.1 billion shortfall in May following the EUR 0.4 billion surplus recorded in April (May 2019: EUR 0.0). Exports plummeted 24.5% in May compared with the same month a year earlier, a faster rate than the 12.6% contraction in April, while imports fell 23.1% this month, having tumbled 24.2% in the month prior.