Chink of light as balance of payments deficit falls by €2bn in third quarter

IRELAND’s balance of payments deficit fell by nearly €2 billion to €902m, on a year-on-year basis, in the third quarter of the year, according to new figures just published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The balance of international payments data basically illustrates a country’s international trade status – by measuring the amount of money coming in and going out through the import and export of goods, services and financial capital.

Compared to the same quarter last year, the value of merchandise exports leaving Ireland stood at €18.53bn – a year-on-year drop of nearly €1.3bn – while imports declined, again on a like-for-like basis, by just under €3.5bn to €10.4bn.