Finland: Current account swings into deficit in January
The current account recorded a EUR 0.1 billion deficit in January, falling from the EUR 0.4 billion surplus recorded in January 2020 and the EUR 2.0 billion surplus logged in the previous month. As such, January’s figure was the first deficit since June 2020. In the 12 months leading up to January, the current account recorded a EUR 1.4 billion surplus, down from EUR 1.9 billion in December 2020.
The merchandise trade print recorded a EUR 0.2 billion surplus in January, matching January 2020’s reading but considerably below the EUR 1.7 billion surplus from the prior month. The result largely reflected a steeper fall in exports than in imports over the month prior.
Meanwhile, the financial account recorded a EUR 4.5 billion net capital outflow in January, up from December 2020’s EUR 2.6 billion outflow, and a considerable increase from the EUR 0.2 billion outflow from the same month in the year prior. The reading reflected a broad-based increase, predominantly driven by a large outflow in other investments.