Finland: Current account surplus logged for eighth consecutive month in February

According to Statistics Finland, the current account was in a surplus for the eighth month in a row in February, at EUR 0.25 billion. This was lower than January’s upwardly-revised EUR 0.38 billion surplus (previously recorded: + EUR 0.27 billion). February’s current account balance was, however, higher than in the same month a year earlier (surplus of EUR 0.20 billion).

In the 12 months leading up to February, the current account surplus remained steady at EUR 1.7 billion, identical to January’s figure.

The trade balance deteriorated in February to a surplus of EUR 0.09 billion, down from a surplus of EUR 0.25 billion in January. On an annual basis, exports grew 7.4% in February, down from January’s 10.4% expansion. There was a 6.1% increase in imports in February, less than the 7.3% growth in January.

Finland Current Account Balance Forecast

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect the current account to record a surplus of 0.3% of GDP in 2018. For 2019, panelists expect a current account surplus of 0.6% of GDP.