Ramallah-(BNEWS)- The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) announced the preliminary results of the Palestinian Balance of Payments (BoP) for the fourth quarter of 2022 under the joint issuance cycle. It should be noted that the data excludes those parts of Jerusalem which were annexed by Israeli occupation in 1967.
An incessant deficit in the Current Account (goods, services, income, current transfers) which totaled USD 905 million. Mainly triggered by the deficit of the Trade Balance of Goods, which reached USD 2,116 million, as well as the deficit in Services Balance, which amounted to USD 345 million.
A decrease in the compensations of employees working in Israel during the fourth quarter of 2022
The surplus in Income Account (compensations of employees and investments income) amounted to USD 969 million. This surplus was due to compensations of the employees working in Israel, which reached USD 912 million despite a decrease this compensations decrease by 14% compared to previous quarter. As for the received investments income, it to USD 98 million; and was mainly caused by the income received on the portfolio investments abroad, in addition to the interest received on the Palestinian deposits in banks abroad.
A decrease in current transfers from abroad during the fourth quarter of 2022
The Current Transfers achieved a surplus value amounted to USD 587 million, where the current transfers for the government sector constituted 12% of the total transfers from abroad with a decrease of 68% compared to previous quarter, while the percentage of the transfers to other sectors reached 88%. The donors’ current transfers constituted 8% of total transfers from abroad.
The preliminary results showed a surplus value for the Capital and Financial Account amounted to USD 787 million, the surplus in the Capital and Financial Account was mainly caused by the surplus in Financial Account which amounted to USD 679 million. There was a decrease in the reserve assets at PMA amounted to USD 108 million, compared to an increase of USD 175 million in the previous quarter.
It is worth mentioning that the Balance of Payments (BoP) is used to determine the economic position of a country compared to 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.
