Bermuda's trade surplus narrows in Q1 2023
Bermuda's trade surplus narrowed in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Minister of Economy and Labour Jason Hayward.
The surplus fell to $309 million, down from $354 million in the same period a year ago.
He explained the decrease in Bermuda’s trade surplus was driven by a wider deficit on the goods account, which increased to $285 million from $283 million.
“Higher imports were associated mainly with the miscellaneous, finished equipment and food, beverages and tobacco commodity groups,” he said adding, “Services transactions realised a surplus of $76 million, narrowing $2 million year-over-year. The decrease in the surplus balance reflected decreases in the accounting, auditing, bookkeeping, and tax consulting services account balance. The surplus on Bermuda’s primary income account fell by $43 million to $564 million, due mainly to a decrease in investment income.
According to Hayward, Bermuda's international trade in financial assets and liabilities resulted in a net international investment position of $3.8 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2023.
“This balance decreased by $554 million over the fourth quarter of 2022 due to decreased assets of portfolio investments, specifically debt securities which were greater than the decrease in liabilities,” he commented.
“Two of the four institutional sectors recorded positive balances on their net international investment positions at the end of the first quarter. Specifically, financial corporations recorded a balance of $6.4 billion, and non-profit institutions recorded a balance of $26 million. In contrast, non-financial corporations recorded a deficit balance of $2.2 billion. While the government sector recorded a deficit balance of $458 million due to a decline in other investment assets.”
The 2023 Q1 Balance of Payments & International Investment Position publication is available online at https://www.gov.bm/balance-payments.
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