The Bank of Lithuania published the balance of payments for November 2023, which shows that, in November, the surplus on the current account balance (CAB) decreased by 34.3%, compared to October, and amounted to €333.5 million. The fall in the surplus was mainly underpinned by a rise in the foreign trade deficit and a decline in the surplus balance of services.

A decrease in foreign trade exports (-4.7%) and a slight increase in imports (+0.1%) led to a decrease (-37.3%) in foreign trade deficit to €577.5 mln. With a fall in exports of services (-3.2%) and a rise in imports (+9.8%), the surplus balance of services decreased by 17.4%, amounting to €697.9 mln.

The surplus on primary income balance (€185.6 mln) was mainly influenced by EU subsidies received by the non-government sector. The secondary income balance declined but remained in surplus, amounting to €27.6 mln. Transfers from EU support funds decreased over the month and amounted to €29.9 mln, whereas Lithuania’s calculated contributions to the EU budget remained unchanged at €43.1 mln.

Personal transfers from abroad amounted to €65.4 mln, representing a month-on-month decrease of 19.1%, whereas personal transfers from Lithuania went up by 17.8% and amounted to €32.3 mln; the positive net flow of financial account investment (€39.7 million) was driven by the positive net flow of other investment (€598.0 million), which was not offset by the negative net flow of portfolio investment (€401.8 mln).