International Economic and Financial Transactions: Q4/2024
Provisional figures for Malta’s external transactions show that during October to December 2024, the current account balance recorded a surplus of €232.8 million, compared to a surplus of €345.2 million in the same quarter of the previous year. This surplus was primarily the result of a positive balance in the services (€1,684.1 million) account. This was partly offset by negative net balances in the goods (€431.7 million), primary income (€899.4 million) and secondary income (€120.3 million) accounts.
During the fourth quarter of 2024, the capital account registered a positive net balance of €87.5 million, which represents a decrease of €20.5 million when compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.
Total net assets of €387.8 million were recorded in the financial account, a decrease of €159.0 million when compared to the value recorded in the same quarter of 2023. The development in the net financial account was mainly brought about by net asset increases in other investment (€3,606.6 million). This was partly offset by net asset decreases in direct investment (€2,721.3 million), financial derivatives (€431.6 million) and portfolio investment (€52.9 million). Reserve assets decreased by €13.0 million during the same period (Table 1).
Chart 1. Current account balance
Tables
Tables
Methodological Notes
1. The National Statistics Office (NSO), with the cooperation of the Central Bank of Malta (CBM), is responsible for the collection, compilation and presentation of both the Balance of Payments (BOP) as well as the International Investment Position (IIP) statements of Malta. Both statements are compiled in accordance with the international guidelines set in the sixth manual of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as with the similarly-set methodological guidelines established by Eurostat.
2. Different data sources have been used in the compilation of the figures presented in this release. The main sources used include: (a) enterprise transactions data collected by the Commissioner for Revenue, which are then complemented with survey data; (b) customs data and INTRASTAT declarations, which are used as a source for merchandise transactions; (c) TOURSTAT and other administrative sources, which are used to compile data for the travel account; and (d) data published by the Bank for International Settlements, which advanced efforts to capture data on the household sector. These sources cover transactions relating to the current account, the capital account and the financial account.
3. The majority of the transactions that are collected through the above-mentioned sources are broken down by country. Survey data are important for breakdowns at country level but the availability of new data sources made it possible to micro-link different databases and improve the geographical breakdown of the re-invested earnings and property income paid to the rest of the world.
4. The data are compiled using a standard format and published at a quarterly frequency.
5. The data in this news release do not necessarily correspond to the latest published National Accounts data for the same reference period. This is due to different cut-off dates for the two sets of data.
6. Revisions are conducted on a quarterly basis with the previous data remaining subject to revision.
7. Adjustments for exports and imports of goods are made for BOP and National Accounts purposes, since merchandise trade data include imports and exports of oil made by non-resident companies having a Maltese VAT number. These are not considered as BOP transactions. Consequently, such imports and exports are being subtracted from the totals. Where necessary, oil imports by Maltese resident companies are imputed.
8. Figures are not seasonally adjusted and may not add up due to rounding.
9. More information relating to this news release may be accessed at:
10. A detailed news release calendar is available online.
11. For guidance on access and re-use of data please visit our dedicated webpage.
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International Economic and Financial Transactions: Q4/2024
- Provisional figures for Malta’s external transactions show that during October-December 2024, the current account balance registered a surplus of €232.8 million as compared to a surplus of €345.2 million a year earlier.
- This surplus was primarily driven by a positive balance in the services account (€1,684.1million).
- The net financial account was in positive territory showing an increase of €387.8 million, mainly brought about by net asset increases in other investment (€3,606.6 million).
