Bulgaria's current and capital account showed a deficit of115.6 million euro in December 2020 against a deficit of 248.1 million euro in the same month of 2019, the central bank said Friday. The current and capital account had a surplus of 1,009.6 million euro (1.7 per cent of GDP) in January-December 2020, compared to a 2,739.1 million euro surplus (4.5 per cent of GDP) in 2019.

The current account had a deficit of 202.1 million euro in December 2020 (against a deficit of 339.8 million euro in December 2019). A current account surplus of 67.5 million euro (0.1 per cent of GDP) was posted for 2020, compared to a surplus of 1,847.5 million euro (3 per cent of GDP) in 2019.

The capital account had a surplus of 86.5 million euro in December 2020 (down from 91.7 million euro in December 2019), adding up to a surplus of 942.1 million euro or 1 per cent of GDP in 2020 (up from 891.6 million euro or 1.5 per cent of GDP in 2019).

The financial account had a surplus of 60.7 million euro in December 2020, down from a surplus of 240.2 million euro a year earlier. It added up to a surplus of 3,747.9 million euro in January-December 2020 (6.2 per cent of GDP), up from 2,663.1 million euro (4.3 per cent of GDP) in 2019.

The trade balance showed a deficit of 260.8 million euro in December 2020, which is an improvement on the deficit of 584.8 million euro in December 2019. It added up to a deficit of 1,728.5 million euro in 2020 (2.9 per cent of GDP), down from the 2,891.2 million euro deficit (4.7 per cent of GDP) in 2019.

The export of goods was worth 2,269.6 million euro in December 2020, increasing by 176.9 million euro (8.5 per cent) from December 2019. The January-December 2020 export totalled 27,163.6 million euro (45.1 per cent of GDP), down by 1,955.7 million euro (6.7 per cent) compared to 2019.

The import of goods totalled 2,530.4 million euro in December 2020, down by 147.1 million euro (5.5 per cent) from December 2019. Imports in 2020 were worth 28,892.1 million euro (47.9 per cent of GDP), decreasing by 3,118.4 million euro (9.7 per cent) from 2019.

The services balance showed a surplus of 147.4 million euro in December 2020, down from 224.5 million euro in December 2019. It added up to a surplus of 2,810.2 million euro (4.7 per cent of GDP) in January-December 2020, down from 4,875.2 million euro (8 per cent of GDP) in 2019.

According to preliminary data, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bulgaria (reported according to the directional principle) decreased by 261.8 million euro in December 2020, compared to a decrease by 86.4 million euro a year earlier. In 2020, FDI went up by 561.7 million euro, compared to an increase of 1,138.5 million euro in 2019./BTA