15 April 2005

MADRID - Spain's current account deficit widened in January to EUR 4.15 billion, the Bank of Spain said.

The balance of payments on the current account is the main measure of the difference between all transaction flows into and out of a country.

The Spanish central bank said in a statement that the trade deficit had widened to EUR 4.67 billion from EUR 2.98 billion in January 2004, reflecting a strong increase in imports, up 13.1 percent on the year.
 
Growth in exports marked a "substantial slowdown" meanwhile, rising by just 1.1 percent, while the surplus in services widened to EUR 1.43 billion from 1.29 billion.

The surplus in tourism remained virtually unchanged at EUR 1.59 billion, compared with EUR 1.58 billion a year earlier.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news