Kenya Quarterly Balance of Payments First Quarter, 2020

Abstract

The current account deficit expanded by 10.2 per cent to KSh 110.9 billion in the first quarter of 2020 from KSh 100.6 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2019. On the contrary, merchandise trade deficit narrowed by 9.1 per cent to KSh 218.9 billion in the quarter under review from KSh 240.7 billion in the same quarter of 2019. The improvement in the merchandise trade balance was mainly due to a 14.0 per cent increase in exports valued on f.o.b basis to 179.8 billion in the first quarter of 2020. Net inflows in international trade in services declined by 67.0 per cent to a surplus of KSh 20.4 billion in the first quarter of 2020 from a surplus of 61.9 billion in the same quarter of 2019. This was mainly due to 18.4 per cent reduction in service receipts and 15.6 per cent increase in service payments in the quarter under review. During the first quarter of 2020, diaspora remittances remained resilient and grew by 4.8 per cent to KSh 71.1 billion.