The current account deficit at the end of January amounted to 136 million euros, up nearly 68% compared with the same time in 2004. The rapid growth was fuelled by the deterioration of the revenue account, where the deficit increased by 94% to 126 million euros. This is the fastest growth pace in the last nine months. Compared with last year, the pace is much slower, however. The account deficit in January 2004 compared with January 2003 was nearly five times higher. The trade balance deficit was slightly more than one percent higher, reaching 232 million euros, at a time when exports outpaced imports in terms of growth, especially for the goods component. Exports of goods in January totalled 1.5bn euros, up 24% on the same time last year. Imports grew by 20% during this period to a total of 1.7bn euros. This can be explained by the fact that retail sales slowed as soon as the Christmas holidays were over and that retailers had built their stocks in the last few months of 2004 when imports grew strongly. Banks confirmed that demand for consumer loans had dropped visibly compared with previous months. ZF
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