Money transfers decreased by 26.7% y/y in Sep-23
Money transfers were down by 26.7% y/y to US$ 283.9mn in Sep-23, following a 14.1% y/y decline in previous month, according to NBG. From major remitting countries, transfers reduced significantly from Russia (-65.8% y/y and -1.4% m/m, accounting for 20.9% of total). In contrast, there were substantial increases in remittances from Italy (+19.3% y/y, 15.3% of total), USA (+43.8% y/y, 14.5% of total), Germany (+32.8% y/y, 7.4% of total), Greece (+11.0% y/y, 7.2% of total) and Kazakhstan (+80.6% y/y, 6.4% of total). Overall, in 9M23 remittances increased by 15.1% y/y to US$ 3.2bn.
Goods trade deficit increased by 16.4% y/y in Sep-23
In Sep-23, goods exports increased by 0.9% y/y to US$ 528.0mn, after a 4.8% y/y growth in previous month. Goods imports were up by 9.2% y/y to US$ 1.2bn in September, after growing by 2.3% y/y in August. Consequently, the trade deficit increased by 16.4% y/y to US$ 713.3mn, after a 0.9% y/y growth in previous month.
The top 5 exported commodities were cars (+97.4% y/y), copper (-62.0% y/y), ferro-alloys (-58.1% y/y), wine (-10.0% y/y) and spirits (+17.0% y/y), in Sep-23. A 11.1% of exports were directed to the EU (+39.4% y/y), 65.7% to the CIS (+23.1% y/y) and 23.1% to other countries (-38.7% y/y).
The top 5 imports were cars (+39.1% y/y), petroleum (-32.9% y/y), pharmaceuticals (+37.5% y/y), phones (+7.6% y/y) and tobacco (+28.4% y/y) in Sep-23.
Overall, in 9M23, trade deficit increased by 22.3% y/y to US$ 6.7bn, as exports increased by 12.7% y/y to US$ 4.6bn, while imports were up by 18.2% y/y to US$ 11.3bn.
Producer price index fell by 3.3% y/y in Sep-23
Annual PPI for industrial goods, similar to previous month, fell by 3.3% in Sep-23, according to Geostat. This decline was primarily driven by price reduction in manufacturing sector (-4.0% y/y).
NBG sold US$ 40.0mn
On 17 October 2023, NBG intervened in the FX market and sold US$ 40.0mn, easing one-off pressure on the currency. Notably, the NBG is a net buyer of US$ 1.2bn year-to-date by our estimates.
