Balance of payments of Luxembourg during the first semester of 2025

The Banque centrale du Luxembourg (BCL) and STATEC inform that, according to the first provisional results, the current account for the first semester of 2025 showed a surplus of 2 181 million euros, i.e. a decrease of 196 million euro compared to the same period of the previous year.

The goods surplus stood at 1 251 million euro in the first semester of 2025, corresponding to an improvement of 429 million euro compared to the same semester of the previous year. Indeed, exports of goods increased by 2% while imports decreased by 2%. Firstly, net exports from goods under merchanting (purchases of goods abroad and their resale abroad) expanded by 599 million euro. Secondly, general merchandise (i.e. excluding merchanting) exports declined by 3% (-374 million euro), while imports shrank less, by 1.5% (-204 million euro).

The balance of international trade in services shrank by 9.5% in the first semester of 2025 (1 490 million euro) compared to the same semester of the previous year, due to the fact that exports dropped by 1.9% and imports increased by 0.2%. In particular, trade in non-financial services decreased, but much more for exports (-6.9%) than for imports (-2.5%), thereby reducing the surplus in non-financial services compared to the first semester 2024. International trade in financial services, meanwhile, progressed with 2.3% for exports and 3.3% for imports. This evolution is driven mainly by an increase in average assets managed by investment funds during the period under review (7%) compared to the same semester of the previous year.

In the financial account, direct investments were negative during the first semester of 2025, both for assets (-68.2 billion euro) and liabilities (-73.8 billion euro, largely due to intra-group loans), compared to positive investments in the first semester 2024.

Regarding portfolio investments, Luxembourg equities recorded net inflows, reaching 141.2 billion euro during the first semester of 2025, compared to net inflows of 94.6 billion euro in the first semester of 2024.

On their side, transactions in foreign equities were positive in the first semester of 2025 (10.3 billion euro) in contrast to the same period in 2024 (-21.8 billion euro). Moreover, foreign debt securities continued to be subject of net acquisitions, amounting to 136.5 billion euro. Finally, Luxembourg debt securities recorded net inflows of 25.2 billion euro, which corresponds to an increase vis-à-vis the first semester of 2024 (16.8 billion euro).

Detailed statistical tables are available on BCL’s website (www.bcl.lu) as well as on the website of STATEC (www.statistiques.lu).