Greek Current Account Surplus up 42.4 pct in Jan-July

Greece's current account surplus grew by 42.4 pct in the January-July period this year, compared with the corresponding period in 2013, the Bank of Greece said on Monday.

The central bank, in a report, said that the current account surplus totaled 567 million euros in the seven-month period, from a surplus of 399 million euros in 2013, helped by improving balances of services and incomes.

The 1.7 billion rise in the surplus of the services balance is due to increased net transport receipts, as well as higher net receipts from travel and other services. As regards travel spending by non-residents in Greece, a year-on-year increase of 13.8 pct was recorded, reflecting a 20.8 pct rise in non-residents’ arrivals, the central bank said in its report.

At the end of July 2014, Greece’s reserve assets stood at 5.0 billion euros, compared with 4.6 billion at the end of July 2013.