Malta’s current account balance during the June quarter registered a net surplus of €85.4 million.

The National Statistics Office said preliminary estimates of Malta’s external transactions in the April-June period revealed an improvement in the current account balance of €77.1 million.

Bringing forth this amelioration was essentially a decrease of €76.5 million in the net negative balance of the goods account as well as an increase of €39.9 million in the net positive balance of the services account of the statement.

The goods account was marked by a fall in import outlays of €264.2 million that more than offset a decrease in export revenues of €187.7 million. The services account was mostly affected by an increase in travel earnings of €23.5 million plus a net favourable balance in other services.

In contrast, the current account balance was also adversely affected by unfavourable movements in both the income account as well as the current transfers account.

The net negative balance in the income account rose by €30.8 million while the net positive balance in the current transfers account decreased by €8.5 million. The income account was essentially influenced by a decline in interest receipts on bonds and notes held by financial intermediaries operating in Malta, whereas the current transfers account was affected by a drop in government transfer receipts from non-resident entities.