Balance of payments of Luxembourg in the first quarter of 2026

The Banque centrale du Luxembourg (BCL) and STATEC inform that, according to the first provisional results, the current account for the first quarter of 2026 showed a surplus of 1 345 million euros, i.e. a decrease of 319 million euro compared to the same period of the previous year.

The goods surplus stood at 482 million euro in the first quarter of 2026, corresponding to a deterioration of 178 million euro compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Indeed, exports of goods decreased by 5% while imports decreased by 2%. Firstly, net exports of goods under merchanting (purchases of goods abroad and their resale abroad) contracted by 892 million euro. Secondly, general merchandise (i.e. excluding merchanting) exports progressed by 9% (557 million euro), while imports shrank, by 2% (-157 million euro).

The balance of international trade in services remained stable in the first quarter of 2026 (+48 million euro) compared to the same quarter of the previous year, due to the fact that exports rose by 0.5% and imports by 0.4%. In particular, trade in non-financial services decreased for exports (-4.0%) and for imports (-1.2%), thereby shrinking the surplus in non-financial services compared to the first quarter 2025. International trade in financial services, meanwhile, progressed with 3.9% for exports and 2.1% for imports. This evolution is driven mainly by an increase in average assets managed by investment funds during the period under review compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

In the financial account, direct investments were again negative (withdrawal of equities) in the first quarter of 2026 for both assets (-40 billion euros) and liabilities (-30 billion euros), further to strong negative investments on both asset and liability sides in the first quarter of 2025.

Regarding portfolio investments, Luxembourg equities, driven by Investment Funds (IF) shares recorded net inflows, reaching 32 billion euros in the first quarter of 2026. In return, resident institutions (and primarily IF) invested abroad: 24 billion on equities and 32 billion euros on debt securities.

Resident deposit-taking corporations and other resident institutions also increased their other investments abroad, mostly deposits and loans (60 billion euros). Non-resident investors also increased their other investments in Luxembourg (34 billion euros), in particular through deposits and loans to resident financial institutions.

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