Balance of payments – commentary

April 2026

The current account surplus amounted to CZK 1.2 billion in April. The goods and services balance ended in a surplus of CZK 28.0 billion. Direct investment dividends totalling CZK 7.2 billion were recorded on the debit side of the primary income balance. Income and capital transfers include a surplus on transactions vis-à-vis EU institutions, totalling CZK 3.1 billion.

Current account
(CZK billions)

The net outflow of capital on the financial account (net lending) reached CZK 24.7 billion in April. Transaction growth in assets vis-à-vis non-residents reached CZK 125.6 billion, while growth in liabilities to non-residents amounted to CZK 101.0 billion. Foreign direct investment recorded a net capital outflow of CZK 25.0 billion. The balance of flows in debt instruments showed an outflow of CZK 38.6 billion, while the balance of flows into equity capital recorded an inflow of CZK 13.6 billion. Portfolio investment recorded a net capital outflow of CZK 20.7 billion, due mainly to a transaction increase in assets vis-à-vis non-residents (CZK 21.2 billion), while transaction growth in liabilities amounted to CZK 0.4 billion. The growth in assets was driven primarily by investments of other sectors (CZK 17.3 billion), particularly into equity and shares (CZK 12.3 billion). On the liabilities side, a movement was recorded in the structure of debt securities issued by domestic commercial banks – specifically a decline in non-residents’ holdings of short-term securities (CZK 18.0 billion) and, conversely, an increase in holdings of long-term securities (CZK 16.6 billion).

Direct and portfolio investment
(CZK billions)

Other investment recorded a net capital inflow of CZK 60.4 billion amid transaction growth in both liabilities to non-residents (CZK 80.1 billion) and assets vis-à-vis non-residents (CZK 19.7 billion). The increase in liabilities was predominantly driven by non-residents’ deposits with domestic banks (including the central bank), which rose by CZK 80.0 billion. On the assets side, the growth was due to the segment of resident commercial banks, where an increase was recorded for long-term deposits with non-residents (CZK 40.3 billion) and loans to non-residents (CZK 12.2 billion). Conversely, short-term deposits of commercial banks with non-residents declined by CZK 32.5 billion. International reserves increased by CZK 43.7 billion in April owing to transactions.