Euro area current account surplus hits 3.7% of GDP in February
19-04-2018 13:00
The euro area's current account surplus slipped last month amid declines in goods exports and the bloc's primary income receipts.
According to the European Central Bank, the current account surplus fell from 39.0bn in January to 35.1bn for February.
In terms of the 'big picture', the latest balance-of-payments data revealed an increase in the Eurozone's current account surplus for the last 12 months, from the equivalent of 3.4% of gross domestic product one year ago to 3.7%.
There also appeared to be an ongoing shift towards increased services exports, the surplus for which had risen over the past year from 39.1bn to 101.9bn, partially offset by a smaller surplus on the primary income balance from 115.8bn to 94.7bn.
Over that same time interval, the surplus in the euro area's trade in goods with the rest of the world had dipped from 358.7bn to 355.5bn.
Nevertheless, another long-term trend evident in the data continued to be the recycling of those surpluses on the current account into significant purchases of US debt (Treasuries and corporate) markets, via the so-called financial account of the balance of payments.
Thus, in February combined net direct and portfolio investment flows printed at 45bn, with net purchases of long-term debt securities by euro area residents reaching 20bn, alongside another 25bn-worth of direct investment assets via net purchases of equity.
