Today, the Minister of Economy and Labour, the Hon. Jason Hayward, JP, MP, released the 2021 Q3 Balance of Payments & International Investment Position publication from the Department of Statistics.

The Minister explained, “Bermuda’s trade with non-residents resulted in a $164 million surplus for the third quarter of 2021, decreasing $16 million from a year ago. 

“Transactions related to trade in goods resulted in a wider deficit on the goods account, increasing by $70 million to $294 million. Higher imports were associated mainly with finished equipment and fuel.

Minister Hayward added, “Services transactions realised a surplus of $51 million, rising $4 million year-over-year. An improvement was recorded on the travel account due to higher visitor expenditure which offset a larger deficit on the transportation account. The surplus on Bermuda’s primary income account rose by $44 million to $480 million due mostly to an increase in net employee compensation.

The Minister continued, “Bermuda’s trade in financial assets and liabilities with the rest of the world resulted in a net international investment position of $4.6 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2021. This balance decreased by $329 million over the second quarter of 2021 due to a rise in liabilities associated with with currency and deposit holdings and lower investment assets in the form of debt securities. Two of the four institutional sectors recorded positive balances on their net international investment positions at the end of the third quarter. Specifically, financial corporations recorded a balance of $6.6 billion, and non-profit institutions recorded a balance of $40 million. In contrast, non-financial corporations recorded a deficit balance of $1.9 billion while the government sector recorded a deficit balance of $116 million which worsened due to a fall in other investment assets.”

The 2021 Q3 Balance of Payments & International Investment Position publication is available online at https://www.gov.bm/balance-payments. The public is advised to read the concepts and definitions located on the last page of the publication before reviewing the data.