STOCKHOLM (dpa-AFX) - Sweden's current account surplus increased notably in the three months ended September, mainly due to an improvement in the primary income, figures from Statistics Sweden showed Friday.
The current account surplus rose to SEK 56.7 billion in the third quarter from SEK 27.7 billion in the second quarter. In the corresponding month last year, the surplus was EUR 58.9 billion.
The trade surplus shrank to SEK 19.8 billion from SEK 26.5 billion a quarter ago and the surplus on services fell to SEK 21.0 billion from SEK 23.1 billion.
At the same time, the primary income balance turned to a surplus SEK 33.1 billion from a deficit of SEK 14.8 billion in the previous quarter. However, the secondary income deficit widened to SEK 17.2 billion from SEK 7.2 billion.
The capital account showed a negative balance of SEK 1.1 billion in the third quarter versus a surplus of SEK 0.2 billion in the preceding quarter. Meanwhile, the financial account deficit narrowed from SEK 70.5 billion to SEK 29.0 billion.
At the end of the third quarter of 2016, Sweden's international investment position showed net external assets of SEK 487 billion. This represents an increase compared to the previous quarter when net assets amounted to SEK 371 billion.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX