The Central Bank of Nicaragua published its balance of payments report for the third quarter of 2024, reporting a current account surplus of USD 294.2 million for the quarter and USD 694.9 million on a January to September basis. Gross international reserves (RIB) increased by USD 151.7 million in the quarter and by USD 601.6 million year to date, reaching USD 6,048.6 million, equivalent to 7.6 months of goods imports. Goods exports totalled USD 1,700.4 million, up 2.0% year on year, while goods imports reached USD 2,505.0 million, up 2.4%; cumulatively to September, exports were broadly unchanged at USD 5,222.6 million and imports rose 8.7% to USD 7,512.5 million, widening the goods trade deficit to USD 2,289.9 million. Services trade recorded a USD 21.5 million deficit in the quarter, although it remained a USD 31.1 million surplus cumulatively, with weaker services exports linked in part to lower non-resident tourism receipts, telecommunications receipts and manufacturing services in free trade zones, and higher services imports driven mainly by transport services and residents’ travel spending abroad. The primary income deficit widened to USD 196.4 million in the quarter and USD 770.0 million year to date, while remittance inflows rose to USD 1,350.5 million in the quarter and USD 3,828.3 million cumulatively, supporting a USD 3,723.7 million surplus in the secondary income account. On the financial side, gross foreign direct investment inflows totalled USD 533.6 million in the quarter and USD 2,235.7 million year to date, and net external debt disbursements were USD 47.3 million in the quarter and USD 121.9 million cumulatively, alongside net borrowing in the financial account of USD 135.2 million in the quarter and USD 584.5 million to September.

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