ATHENS -Greece’s current account balance showed a wider deficit in December last year compared to the same month in 2020 while tourism revenues rose, the Bank of Greece said on Monday.
Central bank data showed the current account gap reached 1.707 billion euros ($1.94 billion) from a deficit of 0.639 billion euros in December 2020.
The Bank of Greece said the widening of the current account deficit was the result of a larger trade gap as imports outpaced exports. At constant prices exports were down 1.5% while imports rose 17.1%.
In 2021 as a whole, Greece’s current account deficit shrank by 356 million euros compared to a year earlier reaching 10.6 billion euros ($12.04 billion).
Tourism revenue in December rose to 177 million euros from 35 million in the same month a year earlier, when widespread curbs to stem the spread of COVID-19 were in force.
Greece’s reserve assets rose to 12.8 billion euros at the end of last year, up from 12.5 billion in November.
($1 = 0.8802 euros)
(Reporting by George GeorgiopoulosEditing by Gareth Jones)