The State's current account deficit was nearly halved in 2002 compared with the previous year according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office today.
The Republic's current account was in deficit €184 million by the end of 2002, down from €345 million the previous year.
For the fourth quarter, the current account recorded a surplus of €108 million, from a deficit of €290 million in the previous three months.
The balance of payments measures the overall movement of funds into and out of the economy, with the current account measuring day-to-day transfers, mainly related to trade.
The full year trade surplus increase to 11.7 per cent to €38.3 billion as exports rose slightly to €90.4 billion and imports dropped some 4 per cent to €52.1 billion.