Bermuda's current account trade surplus dropped by $383 million in the third quarter of 2009.

Balance of Payments figures released by Government today showed that the current account surplus was $542 million in the third quarter of 2008 but slumped to $159 million in the same period in 2009 as income fell due to declines in investment income and personal incomes.

Payments rose by about $100 million, mainly because of an increase in investment income payments out of the Island.

“All major accounts experienced a deterioration in their balance compared to last year, with the income account recording the largest decline in its surplus balance,” the department stated.

For the first snine months of 2009, Bermuda's current account balance of payments has a surplus of $698 million, compared to a surprlus for all of 2008 of $1.239 billion. The balance of payments surplus in the fourth quarter of the year is traditionally the smallest and was $80 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.

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