Exports of goods fell by 16 percent and imports by 21 percent, while the deficit on the goods account shrank by €80 million on year to €21 million. The biggest fall was recorded in the import of transport vehicles, according to a Bank of Estonia press release.

The emergency situation had a very strong impact on services as there were practically no purchases or sales of travel services or passenger transport services. Services exports were down 36 percent on year, while services imports were down 44 percent. The surplus in services in April was down €35 million on year to €144 million.

Investment income fell substantially, meaning that the negative balance of primary and secondary income narrowed to €10 million.

The active use of infrastructure support, meanwhile, further increased the surplus on the current and capital accounts to €146 million.

The quarterly balance of payments is compiled by the Bank of Estonia from a combined system of representative primary data sources, including surveys of companies, while the monthly balance of payments draws from a considerably smaller database.

Although the monthly report uses as much of the data available for the month reported as possible, including administrative data sources and reports on international payments, it is subjective to a certain degree, which is why it is called an estimate. Once the quarterly balance of payments is released, the monthly balances of payments are adjusted accordingly.

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