Quarterly Balance of Payments Second Quarter 2023

The current account deficit narrowed from KSh 206.2 billion in the second quarter of 2022 to KSh 138.7 billion in the second quarter of 2023 as presented in Table 1. The balance on merchandise trade recorded an improvement from a deficit of KSh 365.8 billion in the second quarter of 2022 to a deficit of KSh 343.2 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2023. This was attributable to a 9.6 per cent increase in exports of goods, coupled with a slight reduction in expenditure on imported commodities during the quarter under review. Tea and horticultural commodities were the key drivers in the growth of exports. The surplus from exports of services rose by 25.6 per cent to KSh 35.4 billion in the second quarter of 2023. Increased exports of services across the major categories namely; travel, transport, financial, telecommunication and government goods and services resulted to the favorable performance in international trade in services. Inflows of diaspora remittances rose from KSh 120.3 billion in the second quarter of 2022 to KSh 140.5 billion, boosting the surplus in the secondary income account by 28.2 per cent to KSh 234.5 billion in the second quarter of 2023.