The Bank of Mozambique (BM) indicates that the country recorded an increase in exports in the third quarter of 2021, due to the slowdown in the current account deficit (cc).
The December 17 report "External Sector Statistics for the Third Quarter of 2021" reveals that the accumulated data for the period in reference shows a combined current and capital account balance of $2,732.1 million, an improvement of 7.2% when compared to the same period last year.
This operational result "was essentially due to the reduction, in 9.2%, of the CC deficit, which was fixed at USD 2.757 million," reads the Central Bank document.
Despite this, the regulatory institution clarifies that the capital account contributed negatively to the overall balance, in view of the contraction of the surplus balance from $94.6 million to $24.9 million, explained by the decrease in foreign aid to the country.
The slowdown in the CC deficit is justified by the reduction in the deficit of the partial goods account by 5.8% (determined by the increase in export revenues, by 37.7%, against the increase in the import bill, by 19.3%) and the increase in the positive balance of secondary income (current transfers) by 54.7%.
In turn, data from the financial account (FC) point to net inflows of financial resources in the order of US$2,428.2 million, down US$4.7% from the same period in 2020, due to the decrease in net contracting of liabilities in the form of Other Investment, by more than 100%, in a context where the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) grew by more than 100%, settling at US$4,590 million.
As a result of the transactions between Mozambique and the rest of the world, the balance between CC and FC showed an overall deficit balance of $303.3 million, culminating in the depletion of reserve assets of $192.5 million, with the balance of gross international reserves, as of September 30, 2021, standing at $3,838.3 million, enough to cover 5.3 and 7.8 months of imports of goods and services, including and excluding major projects, respectively.