Kenya Quarterly Balance of Payments First Quarter 2018

In the first quarter of 2018, the current account deficit improved to KSh 107.9 billion from KSh 129.7 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2017 as shown in Table 1. Merchandise exports1 grew by 7.1 per cent to KSh 162.9 billion in the first quarter of 2018, while merchandise imports valued on free on board (fob) basis grew by 6.5 per cent to KSh 432.1 billion, in the same quarter. Merchandise trade balance (fob) worsened by 6.1 per cent from a deficit of KSh 253.7 billion in the first quarter of 2017 to a deficit of KSh 269.3 billion in the quarter under review. During the first quarter of 2018, international trade in services registered a surplus of KSh 49.3 billion from a surplus of KSh 38.5 billion in the first quarter of 2017. Receipts from international services increased by 10.8 per cent to KSh 129.4 billion in the quarter under review partly on account of improved tourism earnings. Remittances from the diaspora increased substantially in the first quarter of 2018 and boosted the secondary income to record a surplus of KSh 129.3 billion.