Press release

20 April 2020

• In February 2020 the current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €40 billion, compared with a surplus of €32 billion in January 2020.
• In the 12-month period to February 2020, the current account recorded a surplus of €339 billion (2.8% of euro area GDP), compared with a surplus of €361 billion (3.1% of euro area GDP) in the 12 months to February 2019.
• In the financial accounteuro area residents made net acquisitions of foreign portfolio investment securities totalling €482 billion in the 12-month period to February 2020 (up from €87 billion in the 12 months to February 2019). Over the same period, non-residents made net acquisitions of euro area portfolio investment securities amounting to €508 billion (up from €23 billion).

The current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €40 billion in February 2020, increasing by €8 billion from the previous month (see Chart 1 and Table 1). Surpluses were recorded for goods (€33 billion), primary income (€10 billion) and services (€5 billion). These were partly offset by a deficit for secondary income (€8 billion).

Data for the current account of the euro area

In the 12-month period to February 2020, the current account recorded a surplus of €339 billion (2.8% of euro area GDP), compared with a surplus of €361 billion (3.1% of euro area GDP) in the 12 months to February 2019. This decline was driven by reductions in the surpluses for services (down from €116 billion to €67 billion) and primary income (down from €106 billion to €84 billion). These developments were partly offset by a larger surplus for goods (up from €299 billion to €335 billion) and a smaller deficit for secondary income (down from €161 billion to €146 billion).

In direct investment, euro area residents made net investments of €92 billion in non-euro area assets in the 12-month period to February 2020, following net disinvestments of €168 billion in the 12 months to February 2019 (see Chart 2 and Table 2). At the same time, non-residents made net investments in euro area assets of €100 billion in the 12-month period to February 2020, following net disinvestments of €306 billion in the 12 months to February 2019.

In portfolio investment, net purchases of foreign debt securities by euro area residents increased to €414 billion in the 12-month period to February 2020, following net purchases of €81 billion in the 12 months to February 2019. Over the same period, euro area residents made net purchases of foreign equity amounting to €68 billion, after net purchases of €6 billion. Non-residents made net purchases of euro area debt securities amounting to €135 billion in the 12 months to February 2020, after recording net sales of €57 billion in the 12 months to February 2019. Over the same period, the net purchases of euro area equity by non-residents increased to €373 billion from €80 billion.

Data for the financial account of the euro area

In other investment, euro area residents’ net acquisitions of foreign assets increased to €384 billion in the 12-month period to February 2020 (following net acquisitions of €182 billion in the 12 months to February 2019), while their net incurrence of liabilities decreased to €107 billion from €154 billion.

The monetary presentation of the balance of payments (see Chart 3) shows that the net external assets (enhanced) of euro area MFIs increased by €371 billion in the 12-month period to February 2020. This increase was mainly driven by current and capital account surpluses and, to a lesser extent, by euro area non-MFIs’ net inflows in portfolio investment equity. This increase was partly offset by euro area non-MFIs’ net outflows in portfolio investment debt securities.

In February 2020 the Eurosystem’s stock of reserve assets increased to €864.7 billion, up from €846.8 billion in the previous month (see Table 3). This increase was largely driven by positive price changes (€17.5 billion) and, to a lesser extent, by positive exchange rate changes (€1.5 billion). These developments were partly offset by net sales of assets (€1.1 billion).

Data for the reserve assets of the euro area

Data revisions

This press release incorporates revisions to the data for January 2020. In addition, it includes revisions to the seasonally adjusted current account components from January 2008 onwards due to the incorporation of newly estimated seasonal and calendar factors. None of these revisions significantly alter the figures previously published.

Next press releases:

• monthly balance of payments: 20 May 2020 (reference data up to March 2020)
• quarterly balance of payments and international investment position: 3 July 2020 (reference data up to the first quarter of 2020)

For media queries, please contact Philippe Rispal, tel.: +49 69 1344 5482.

Notes

• Hyperlinks in this press release lead to data that may change with subsequent releases as a result of revisions.