The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) have announced the preliminary results of the Palestinian Balance of Payments (BoP) for the fourth quarter of 2015 under the joint issuance cycle for the Palestinian Balance of Payments (BoP).

It should be noted that the data excludes that part of Jerusalem, which was annexed forcefully by Israel following its occupation of the West Bank in 1967.

The preliminary results of BoP for the fourth quarter of 2015 revealed an incessant deficit in the Current Account, which totaled USD 449.8 million, marking a decrease of 23.3% compared with the previous quarter. The deficit in the Current Account was mainly triggered by the deficit in the Trade Balance of Goods, which reached USD 1,268.9 million, with a decrease of 6.0% compared with the previous quarter.

The deficit in Services Balance amounted to USD 45.8 million, while it recorded a deficit of USD 69.4 million in the previous quarter. This deficit occurred due to the increase of the import of Transportation services, other business services and Governmental services, and the decrease of the export of other business services in addition to Governmental services.

The surplus in the Income Account (compensations of employees and investments income) amounted to USD 347.5 million, with a decrease of 2.8% compared with the previous quarter. This surplus resulted from compensations of employees working in Israel, which reached USD 317.3 million.

As for the received investments income, it amounted to USD 36.7 million and was mainly caused by the interest received on deposits in banks abroad, in addition to the income received on the portfolio investments abroad.

The Current Transfers achieved a surplus value amounting to USD 517.4 million with an increase of 8.9% compared with the previous quarter. This was due to an increase of the transfers of donors to the governmental sector. The transfers to the governmental sector contributed with 23.8% of total transfers from abroad, while the transfers to other sectors (mainly private sector) amounted to 76.2%. The donors’ current transfers constituted 32.5% of total transfers from abroad.

The results showed a surplus value for the Capital and Financial Account amounting to USD 570.4 million, with an increase of 24.1% in comparison with the previous quarter.  The surplus in the Capital and Financial Account was mainly caused by the surplus in the Capital Account, which reached USD 112.3 million, and the surplus in the Financial Account, which amounted to USD 458.1 million. There was an increase in the reserve assets at the PMA amounting to USD 32.3 million, with a decrease of USD 81.6 million compared with the previous quarter.

It is worth mentioning that the Balance of Payments (BoP) is used to determine the position of a country compared with 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.

(Palestine Economy Portal)