According to the Bank of Algeria, the total balance of payments during the first nine months of 2022 recorded a “significant” surplus of $11.83 billion, compared to a deficit of $2.48 billion at the end of September 2021. This increase reflects the overall economic improvement of the country during the first nine months of last year, according to the central bank’s recent memo.
Similarly, the trade balance during the first nine months of 2022 showed a surplus of $18.06 billion, compared to a deficit of $790 million in the same period of 2021, as reported by the same source. Algeria’s Central Bank attributes this recovery to the increase in hydrocarbon exports and the growth of non-hydrocarbon product exports, despite a slight increase in the imports of goods.
At the end of September 2022, hydrocarbon exports recorded a significant increase of $18.48 billion compared to the same period in 2021, rising from $24.10 billion to $42.58 billion. This increase was due to the significant rise in oil and gas prices, according to the same source, which also stated that hydrocarbon exports reached their highest level in eight years.
The exports of non-hydrocarbon products reached $4.35 billion at the end of September 2022, compared to $3.08 billion in the same period the previous year, representing an increase of $1.27 billion.
Imports of goods recorded a slight increase of $898 million (3.21+%) during the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period in the previous year, rising from $27.97 billion to $28.87 billion at the end of September 2022.
Economic growth of 2.8 percent in the second quarter of 2022
According to a statement from the Algerian Central Bank, official foreign exchange reserves (excluding gold) reached $52.763 billion at the end of 2022, compared to $45.296 billion at the end of December 2021 and $44.724 billion at the end of 2020, representing increases of $7.465 billion and $8.039 billion, respectively.
The same source also added that the gold stock at the end of September 2022 remained at 5,585,772.702 ounces of gold.
Regarding the Algerian economic activity, it was marked “with tangible growth of 2.8% in the second quarter of 2022.” The statement pointed out that this growth was supported by all sectors except for the hydrocarbon sector, which recorded negative growth of 1.5%.
Excluding hydrocarbons, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth reached 3.6% in volume, compared to 6.3% in the second quarter of 2021.
As for the public finance indicator, at the end of August 2022, the overall treasury balance “improved significantly,” registering a surplus of 316.5 billion Algerian dinars, compared to a deficit of 1111.7 billion Algerian dinars in the same period in 2021. This surplus is mainly due to the increase in budget revenues, especially hydrocarbon revenues.
The Bank of Algeria also pointed to a positive balance for the revenue adjustment fund of 698.1 billion Algerian dinars at the end of September 2022.
This fund has been provided with surpluses collected from petroleum collections provided for in the 2022 finance law.
