OREANDA-NEWS. June 16, 200. In the first quarter of 2009, Estonia's current account moved practically into balance. This means domestic savings and investment were of the same volume, thus there was no need for external financing, reported the press-centre of Eesti Pank.

Compared to the end of 2008, the external debt of the Estonian economy even decreased. This was mainly because the banks' liabilities to their parent banks diminished. It was no longer considered necessary to keep so much money here than last autumn, when the global financial crisis peaked. The last time Estonia's external debt decreased was slightly more than ten years ago, during the Asian-Russian crisis.

According to Eesti Pank's spring forecast base scenario, no so extensive declines in the debt burden are likely to happen over the next quarters. The ratio of external debt to GDP will start increasing again due to the rapid economic contraction.