Greek current account gap shrinks in November on cheaper oil

[ATHENS] Greece's current account deficit shrank in November from the same month a year earlier, mainly due to a lower net oil import bill, the Bank of Greece said on Wednesday.

"The balance of goods deficit shrank by 108 million euros year-on-year, mainly as a result of the lower net oil import bill. Overall, a decrease was observed in both exports and imports of goods, although imports declined more than exports,"the central bank said.

The data showed the deficit reached 1.217 billion euros from 1.496 billion euros in November 2014. Tourism revenues rose slightly to 241 million euros from 208 billion euros in the same month in 2014.

In 2014 Greece posted a current account surplus of 1.66 billion euros, up from 1.09 billion euros in 2013, helped by higher tourism revenues - its biggest foreign currency earner.

REUTERS