Foreign direct investments (FDI) rose by 69% on an annual basis in the period January-August 2012 and stood at around €873 mln, showed Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) data. The increase for the first seven months of the year was 125% on an annual basis and amounted to €846 mln.

The current account had a surplus of €579 mln in August 2012, €5 mln down from the same month last year. The entire surplus was due to proceeds from services, whose net amount was €608 mln in August 2012, €494 mln of which came from the tourism sector. Net proceeds from the tourism industry declined by €8.5 mln on an annual basis in August. Proceeds from foreign tourists rose by €13 mln but Bulgarians’ expenditures for their trips abroad increased by €21.3 mln.

Revenues from current transfers, including proceeds from EU funds and the Bulgarians living abroad, increased by 7% (€8.7 mln) to €130.5 mln in August 2012. The fiscal account, including FDI, had a deficit of BGN 315 mln in August 2012, compared to a deficit of BGN 51 mln a year earlier, mainly due to withdrawal of portfolio investments (net withdrawal of €233 mln in August 2012, compared to a surplus of €52 mln a year earlier). The aggregate balance of payments for August 2012 has a surplus of €105.4 mln, compared to a surplus of €411.2 mln a year earlier. BNB’s reserve assets also increased by the same amount.

The overall balance of payments in the period January-August 2012 had a surplus of €1.55 bn, compared to a deficit of €124 mln a year earlier. The main reason for the improvement was the surplus in the fiscal account, amounting to BGN 1.06 bn since the beginning of 2012, compared to a deficit of BGN 1.55 bn in the period January-August 2011. Within the period, the current account deteriorated to a surplus of BGN 34 mln, down from a surplus of BGN 877 mln for the same period in 2011, showed BNB’s statistics.