Annual Report 2010 03 August 2011 - Banka Qendrore e ...

CBK
Annual Report 2010
3.4.1 Current account
The negative trade balance of the
goods account remains the main
cause for the high current account
deficit. In 2010, the current
account deficit reached at euro
684.4 million, compared to euro
603.5 million in the same period of
the previous year (Figure 31).
Recording an annual growth of 9.4
percent, the negative trade balance
of goods was the main contributor
to the increase of the current
account deficit in 2010. On the
other hand, the growth of the positive balance in the income and current transfer accounts
continued to contribute on the softening of the current account deficit. Income account
recorded an annual growth of 50.7 percent in 2010 (-49.4 percent in 2009). Current
transfers balance also increase, recording a growth rate of 2.6 percent in 2010 (9.0 percent
in 2009).
3.4.1.1 Goods and services
Figure 31. Current account balance, in millions of
euro
1500
1000
500
0
-500
-1000
-1500
-2000
Current
account
Goods Services Income Current
transfers
2007 2008 2009 2010
Source: CBK (2011)
Kosovo’s economy continues to increase its trade activity. The degree of trade openness in
2010 reached at 59.3 percent of GDP, compared to 54.3 percent of GDP in 2009. The
increase of exports during 2010 resulted in a higher coverage ratio of imports by exports,
which reached at 13.7 percent, compared to 8.5 percent in the same period of the previous
year (Table 8).
Table 8. Kosovo’s trade balance, in millions of euro
Source: CBK 2011
Description 2007 2008 2009 2010
Exports 165.1 198.5 165.3 294.0
Imports 1,576.2 1,928.2 1,935.5 2,144.9
Trade balance -1,411.0 -1,729.7 -1,770.2 -1,850.9
Exsport to import ratio (%) 10.5 10.3 8.5 13.7
Trade openness (% of GDP) 51.0 55.3 54.3 59.3
Amounting at euro 1.85 billion, Kosovo’s trade deficit recorded an annual growth of 4.6
percent in 2010. The share of trade deficit to GDP in 2010 stood at 45.0 percent compared
to 45.8 percent of GDP in 2009.
Kosovo imports during 2010 recorded an annual growth of 10.8 percent, reaching the
amount of euro 2.1 billion. The annual increase of fuel prices in the international markets
by around 25.0 percent during 2010 affected to some extent the increase of the overall value
of imported goods, considering that mineral products represents one of main categories of
Kosovo’s imports.
Although the increase of prices during 2010 was mainly of global character, Kosovo’s
economy faced a higher level of inflation compared to the average of the EU and CEFTA
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