MAPUTO, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Mozambique's external accounts came under pressure in 2024, with the combined current and capital account deficit widening to 2.23 billion U.S. dollars, or 10.1 percent of its domestic gross product (GDP), according to the latest Annual Balance of Payments Bulletin 2024 from the Bank of Mozambique.

The figure reflects a 26.4 percent increase from the previous year.

The deterioration was driven by a rising current account deficit, which reached 2.49 billion dollars, up 13.2 percent year-on-year. Contributing factors included a 37 percent increase in the primary income deficit, an 11 percent increase in the deficit of the services account, and an 18.3 percent decrease in the positive balance of current transfers.

Despite the growing imbalance, Mozambique attracted 3.55 billion dollars in foreign direct investment (FDI), a 41.6 percent annual increase. Most of the investment went into extractive industries, accounting for 87.2 percent of the total. Leading sources of FDI included South Africa, the Netherlands, Mauritius and Italy.

The overall balance of payments still recorded a surplus of 211 million dollars, boosting international reserves to 3.8 billion dollars, enough to cover up to 5.2 months of imports, excluding large projects.

However, the country's net international investment position worsened, with net liabilities rising to 71.3 billion dollars, up 2.61 percent. The bank's report said that the pace of liability growth outstripped asset accumulation, weakening Mozambique's financial autonomy. ■