Balance of payments – commentary

March 2025

The current account surplus amounted to CZK 42.5 billion in March. The goods and services balance ended in a surplus of CZK 60.5 billion. Direct investment dividends totalling CZK 2.0 billion were recorded on the debit side of the primary income balance. Income and capital transfers included a surplus on transactions of CZK 9.0 billion vis-à-vis EU institutions.

Current account
(CZK billions)

The net outflow of capital on the financial account (net lending) amounted to CZK 39.9 billion in March amid increasing assets (CZK 35.1 billion) and declining liabilities vis-a-vis non-residents (CZK 4.8 billion). Foreign direct investment recorded a capital inflow of CZK 6.2 billion, primarily in the form of debt instruments (CZK 16.5 billion). By contrast, non-debt instruments saw an outflow (CZK 10.3 billion). Portfolio investment recorded a net capital outflow of CZK 87.6 billion, linked, on the liabilities side, mainly to declining non-residents’ holdings of debt securities of resident banks and general government (CZK 46.6 billion). On the assets side, the outflow was due mainly to an increase in equity and investment fund shares held by other resident sectors (CZK 21.0 billion).

Direct and portfolio investment
(CZK billions)

Other investment showed a net capital inflow of CZK 41.5 billion, caused by both a decrease in assets vis-a-vis non-residents (CZK 11.0 billion) and an increase in liabilities to non-residents (CZK 30.5 billion). On the liabilities side, the capital inflow was due predominantly to the developments in the banking sector, especially a rise in non-residents’ deposits (CZK 25.2 billion) and resident banks’ other liabilities to non-residents (CZK 11.6 billion). On the assets side, the capital inflow was also due primarily to the developments in the domestic banking sector, especially declining loans to non-residents (CZK 12.6 billion). International reserves increased by CZK 7.7 billion in March owing to financial transactions.