The Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo has released external sector statistics for the fourth quarter of 2024 and balance of payments data for January 2025. In Q4 2024, international investment position assets increased by EUR 156.86m and liabilities by EUR 459.03m, taking end-December stocks to EUR 8.24bn in international assets and EUR 10.36bn in international liabilities. The rise in international assets in Q4 2024 was driven by direct investment (EUR 60.31m), investment in securities (EUR 146.37m) and other investment (EUR 96.08m), while reserve assets fell by EUR 145.91m; on the liabilities side, foreign direct investment into Kosovo rose by EUR 187.34m and other investment by EUR 271.69m. Gross external debt (public and private) reached EUR 4.23bn at end-Q4 2024, up EUR 254.61m quarter on quarter, with the increase led by the private sector (EUR 171.31m) and a smaller rise in public debt (EUR 83.29m); public sector external debt stood at EUR 955.91m (22.59% of total) and private sector debt at EUR 3.27bn. For January 2025, the balance of payments recorded a current account deficit of EUR 21.36m, compared with a surplus of EUR 6.78m a year earlier, mainly reflecting a larger goods trade deficit of EUR 379.26m (exports of EUR 61.16m and imports of EUR 440.42m). Offsetting items included a services surplus of EUR 197.55m, a primary income surplus of EUR 22.06m and a secondary income surplus of EUR 138.29m, with remittances at EUR 86.14m; preliminary estimates put remittances at around EUR 88.12m in February 2025 (EUR 174.26m for the first two months).

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