RAMALLAH, Tuesday, September 24, 2019 (WAFA) - Preliminary results of the Palestinian Balance of Payments for the second quarter of 2019 showed an incessant deficit in the Current Account (goods, services, income, current transfers) which totaled $403 million, according to a joint report by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA).

This deficit in current account was mainly triggered by the deficit of the Trade Balance of Goods, which reached $1,230 million, as well as the deficit in Services Balance, which amounted to $260 million.

The surplus in Income Account (compensations of employees and investments income) amounted to $631 million. This surplus was due to compensations of the employees working in Israel, which reached $609 million. As for the received investments income, it amounted to $47 million; and was mainly caused by the income received on the portfolio investments abroad, in addition to the interest received on the Palestinian deposits in banks abroad.

The Current Transfers achieved a surplus value amounted to $456 million with a decrease of 12% compared to the previous quarter, said the joint report. The total transfers from abroad amounted to $537 million, of which 24% were the transfers to the government sector (with a decrease of 32% compared to the previous quarter), while the percentage of the transfers to other sectors reached 76%. The donors’ current transfers constituted 25% of total transfers from abroad.

The preliminary results showed a surplus value for the Capital and Financial Account amounting to $257 million caused by the surplus in Financial Account, which amounted to $170 million. There was an increase in the reserve assets at PMA amounting to $15 million, compared to an increase of $45 million in the previous quarter.

M.K.