free hit counters
PCBS | The Preliminary Results of the Palestinian Balance of Payments , First Quarter, 2022

Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and

 The Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA(

The Deficit in Current Account is USD 623 Million

Of the Palestinian Balance of Payments – First Quarter 2022

 

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) announced the preliminary results of the Palestinian Balance of Payments (BoP) for the first quarter of 2022 under the joint issuance cycle. It should be noted that the data excludes those parts of Jerusalem which were annexed by Israeli occupation in 1967.

 

The deficit in trade balance of goods is the main reason behind the current account deficit

An incessant deficit in the Current Account (goods, services, income, current transfers) which totaled USD 623 million.  Mainly triggered by the deficit of the Trade Balance of Goods, which reached USD 1,810 million, as well as the deficit in Services Balance, which amounted to USD 347 million.

 

The compensations of employees working in Israel are the main reason behind the income account surplus

The surplus in Income Account (compensations of employees and investments income) amounted to USD 987 million.  This surplus was due to compensations of the employees working in Israel, which reached USD 952 million. As for the received investments income, it amounted to USD 69 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 from abroad to other (non-government) sectors are the main reason behind the current transfers surplus

The Current Transfers achieved a surplus value amounted to USD 547 million with a decrease of 23% compared to the previous quarter. where the current transfers for the government sector constituted 14% of the total transfers from abroad, while the percentage of the transfers to other sectors reached 86%.  The donors’ current transfers constituted 9% of total transfers from abroad.

 

The preliminary results showed a surplus value for the Capital and Financial Account amounted to USD 514 million, the surplus in the Capital and Financial Account was mainly caused by the surplus in Financial Account which amounted to USD 411 million. There was a decrease in the reserve assets at PMA amounted to USD 9 million, compared to an increase of USD 79 million in the previous quarter.

 

It is worth mentioning that the Balance of Payments (BoP) is used to determine the economic position of a country compared to other countries worldwide, and to calculate the size of its external debt. This data enables researchers and decision makers to devise informed economic policies and development plans to improve their external balance to guarantee the stability of the state and sustain the economic growth. BoP data was prepared according to the latest international recommendations taking into account the specificity of the Palestinian situation.

Table 1: Balance of Payments In Palestine* for the fourth quarter 2021

 and first quarter 2022

     (Value in million USD)

Indicator

Q4 - 2021

Q1 - 2022

Current account (net)

-390

-623

  Goods (net)

-1,704

-1,810

    Exports (fob)

694

622

    Imports (fob)

2,398

2,432

    Services (net)

-312

-347

    Exports

266

239

    Imports

578

586

Income (net)

911

987

   Receipts

960

1,034

  Compensation of employees

881

965

  Of which from Israel

867

952

  Investment income

79

69

  Payments

49

47

    Current transfers (net)

715

547

   Inflows

806

642

   To the government sector

262

88

   of which from Donors transfers

212

33

   To the other sectors

544

554

   of which from Donors transfers

25

25

    Outflows

91

95

   Capital and financial account (net)

569

514

   Capital account (net)

141

103

      Capital transfers (net)

141

103

      Inflows

141

103

     To the government sector

53

12

     of which from Donors transfers

53

12

     To the other sectors

88

91

     Outflows

0

0

Acquisition / disposal of non-Produced, non-financial assets non-financial assets (net)

0

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 1 (Cont.): Balance of Payments In Palestine*for the fourth quarter 2021 and first quarter 2022

 

(Value in million USD)

Indicator

Q4- 2021

Q1- 2022

   Financial account (net)**

428

411

     Foreign Direct investment (net)

87

106

         Change in investment abroad (net)

-3

5

         Change in investment in Palestine (net)

90

101

     Foreign  Portfolio investment (net)

17

17

         Change in Assets (net)

-4

-1

         Change in Liabilities (net)

21

18

     Foreign Other investment (net)

403

279

         Change in Assets (net)

372

290

            Of which Currency and deposits***

459

339

         Change in Liabilities (net)

31

-11

            Of which Loans nonresidents

-3

-4

            Of which Currency and deposits****

33

-9

Net errors and omissions

-179

109

Overall balance

79

-9

Financing

-79

9

Exceptional financing

0

0

Change in Reserve assets (- = Increase/+= decrease)

-79

9

 

*The data excludes those part of Jerusalem which were annexed by Israeli occupation in 1967.

** Include reserve assets.

***Currency and deposits: Including the cash of foreign currency in the banks and the deposits

of the Palestinian institutions deposited abroad.

****Currency and deposits: Includes the deposits of non-residents deposited in Local banks.



Close
Close