EUROSTAT European Union Statistical Office : EU28 current account surplus €38.7 bn

9/2019 - 14 January 2019

Third quarter of 2018

EU28 current account surplus €38.7 bn

€49.3 bn surplus for trade in services

The EU28 seasonally adjusted current account of the balance of payments recorded a surplus of €38.7 billion (1.0% of GDP) in the third quarter of 2018, down from a surplus of €59.9 billion (1.5% of GDP) in the second quarter of 2018 and from a surplus of €60.4 billion (1.6% of GDP) in the third quarter of 2017, according to estimates released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In the third quarter of 2018 compared with the second quarter of 2018, based on seasonally adjusted data, the surplus of the goods account decreased (+€10.2 bn compared to +€24.4 bn), as did the surplus of the services account (+€49.3 bn compared to +€51.0 bn) and the surplus in the primary income account (+€0.4 bn compared to +€5.2 bn). The deficit of the secondary income account increased (-€21.2 bn compared to -€20.8 bn), as did the deficit of the capital account (-€3.4 bn compared to -€3.2 bn).

EU28 and EA19 current account balance, calendar and seasonally adjusted, as % of GDP

EU28 current account balance as % GDP

EA19 current account balance as % GDP

5%

4%

3%

2%

1%

0%

-1%

-2%

-3%

EU28 current and capital account - calendar and seasonally adjusted (in bn euro)

Q3 2017			Q4 2017			Q1 2018			Q2 2018			Q3 2018
Credit	Debit	Balance	Credit	Debit	Balance	Credit	Debit	Balance	Credit	Debit	Balance	Credit	Debit	Balance
CURRENT ACCOUNT	881.9	821.5	60.4	912.8	852.0	60.7	914.2	848.7	65.5	924.7	864.9	59.9	932.0	893.4	38.7
- Goods	476.6	438.4	38.2	492.6	452.7	39.9	497.9	460.3	37.5	494.1	469.7	24.4	498.7	488.5	10.2
- Services	218.4	169.4	49.0	224.4	175.1	49.3	221.1	174.3	46.8	223.4	172.4	51.0	228.4	179.1	49.3
- Primary income	163.5	167.8	-4.4	170.8	177.2	-6.4	171.4	169.6	1.8	183.9	178.7	5.2	182.0	181.6	0.4
- Secondary income	23.5	46.0	-22.5	25.0	47.1	-22.1	23.8	44.4	-20.6	23.3	44.1	-20.8	23.0	44.2	-21.2
Current account as % of GDP	22.9%	21.3%	1.6%	23.4%	21.9%	1.6%	23.3%	21.6%	1.7%	23.3%	21.8%	1.5%	23.4%	22.5%	1.0%
CAPITAL ACCOUNT	3.1	11.9	-8.8	2.3	6.6	-4.4	2.9	4.4	-1.6	2.6	5.7	-3.2	2.5	5.9	-3.4

Source:Eurostat

Balance of payments euro-indicators for EA19, seasonally adjusted (bn euro)

EA19	Q3 2017	Q4 2017	Q1 2018	Q2 2018	Q3 2018
Current account balance	108.0	99.5	104.9	96.1	76.2
Balance of trade in goods	91.0	91.1	85.4	80.0	68.7
Balance of trade in services	27.4	31.2	29.8	29.1	28.6
Balance of primary income	27.3	11.0	20.6	22.7	18.9
Balance of secondary income	-37.8	-33.8	-30.8	-35.7	-40.0
Current account balance as % of GDP	3.8%	3.5%	3.7%	3.3%	2.6%

Source: ECB

Main partners

In the third quarter of 2018, based on non-seasonally adjusted data, the EU28 recorded external current account surpluses with the USA (+€56.9 bn), Switzerland (+€20.8 bn), Canada (+€8.9 bn), Hong Kong (+€7.3 bn), Brazil (+€6.3 bn) and India (+€1.1 bn). Deficits were registered with China (-€29.6 bn), Russia (-€12.6 bn), Japan (-€1.8 bn) and offshore financial centres (-€0.4 bn).

Financial account

Based on non-seasonally adjusted data, direct investment assets of the EU28 grew in the third quarter of 2018 by €68.6 bn, while direct investment liabilities increased by €21.7 bn. As a result, the EU28 was a net direct investor in the third quarter of 2018 by €46.9 bn. Portfolio investment recorded a net inflow of €12.0 bn, and for other investment there was a net outflow of €18.1 bn.

EU28 financial account - neither calendar nor seasonally adjusted (net change in assets/liabilities in bn euro)

Q3 2017	Q4 2017	Q1 2018	Q2 2018	Q3 2018
NET FINANCIAL ACCOUNT	145.8	2.8	150.2	-116.0	75.5
- FINANCIAL ACCOUNT ASSETS	218.7	123.1	448.6	7.4	50.0
- FINANCIAL ACCOUNT LIABILITIES	72.9	120.3	298.4	123.5	-25.6
- Net direct investment	48.1	-101.6	120.6	-22.4	46.9
- assets	-74.0	-15.7	57.7	35.4	68.6
- liabilities	-122.1	85.8	-62.9	57.8	21.7
- Net portfolio investment	68.6	-21.0	0.9	-103.0	-12.0
- assets	164.6	61.2	154.2	-44.4	5.1
- liabilities	96.0	82.2	153.2	58.6	17.2
- Net other investment	8.2	122.9	-2.8	-3.6	18.1
- assets	107.1	75.2	205.1	3.5	-46.3
- liabilities	99.0	-47.8	208.0	7.1	-64.4
- Net financial derivatives and employee stock options	7.2	-2.1	15.5	7.8	14.4
- Reserve assets	13.8	4.5	16.0	5.1	8.1

Source:Eurostat

Current account of Member States (including intra-EU flows)

As concerns the total (intra-EU plus extra-EU) current account balances of the EU28 Member States, based on available non-seasonally adjusted data, eighteen recorded surpluses and ten deficits in the third quarter of 2018. The highest surpluses were observed in Germany (+€51.7 bn), the Netherlands (+€20.5 bn), Italy (+€15.1 bn), Ireland (+€9.1 bn) and Denmark (+€5.9), and the largest deficits in the United Kingdom (-€35.4 bn), Romania (-€3.2 bn), France and Poland (both -€2.5 bn).

Geographical information

The European Union (EU28) includes Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The euro area (EA19) includes Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

Offshore Financial Centres (OFC) is an aggregate which includes 40 countries. As examples, the aggregate contains financial centres such as Liechtenstein, Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man, Andorra, Gibraltar, Panama, Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines.

Methods and definitions

The current account covers all transactions occurring between resident and non-resident entities, and refers to international trade in goods and services, as well as primary and secondary income. The capital account comprises capital transfers and the acquisition and disposal of non-produced, non-financial assets. The financial account records transactions that involve financial assets and liabilities, and take place between residents and non-residents and is further subdivided into direct investment, portfolio investment, other investment, financial derivatives and employee stock options and reserve assets. Further details of the statistical concepts and definitions used can be found on the Eurostat websitehere.

In line with the agreed allocation of responsibility, the European Central Bank (ECB) is in charge of compiling and disseminating monthly and quarterly balance of payments and quarterly international investment position statistics for the euro area, while the European Commission (Eurostat) focuses on monthly, quarterly and annual aggregates of the EU. The aggregates for the euro area and the EU are compiled consistently on the basis of Member States' transactions with residents of countries outside the euro area and the European Union respectively.

Revisions and time table

The EU balance of payments estimates for the reference quarter are based on figures provided by the Member States to Eurostat 82 days (Euro Area Member States) or 85 days (non-Euro Area countries) after the end of the reference quarter, and should be considered as provisional. Figures may be subject to revision when data for later quarters are transmitted by the Member States.

A more limited set of monthly data is available in the Eurostat on-line database approximately 51 days after the end of the reference month. The publication timetable of balance of payments statistics for 2019 is availablehere.

For more information

Eurostatwebsite section on balance of payments Eurostatmetadata on balance of payments statistics Eurostatdatabase section on balance of payments EurostatStatistics Explained article on balance of paymentsECB statistics on balance of payments data

Eurostat €-indicatorsrelease calendar

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EU28 geographical breakdown of selected balance of payments items - neither calendar nor seasonally adjusted (bn euro)

Partner	Period	Total current account			Goods			Services			Direct investment
		Credit	Debit	Balance	Credit	Debit	Balance	Credit	Debit	Balance	Assets	Liabilities	Net
Total	Q3/2017	883.7	808.5	75.2	475.0	437.7	37.3	226.4	172.9	53.6	-74.0	-122.1	48.1
	Q3/2018	933.7	879.5	54.2	497.1	487.8	9.2	236.8	182.8	54.0	68.6	21.7	46.9
USA	Q3/2017	218.8	169.6	49.2	97.5	56.6	40.9	59.5	54.8	4.6	-118.1	-177.1	59.1
	Q3/2018	239.5	182.6	56.9	108.0	61.9	46.1	62.0	56.1	5.9	12.6	-7.8	20.3
Switzerland	Q3/2017	83.2	65.9	17.3	32.8	27.8	5.0	30.1	18.0	12.0	-13.6	11.4	-25.0
	Q3/2018	84.2	63.4	20.8	33.2	27.7	5.4	29.7	14.7	15.0	10.0	56.0	-46.0
China*	Q3/2017	72.5	102.1	-29.6	54.1	92.1	-38.0	11.6	7.2	4.4	-0.1	2.9	-3.0
	Q3/2018	78.4	108.1	-29.6	57.7	97.8	-40.2	13.2	7.5	5.8	1.0	2.7	-1.7
Russia	Q3/2017	36.6	36.9	-0.4	23.3	31.3	-8.0	8.0	3.2	4.8	2.8	2.6	0.1
	Q3/2018	35.5	48.1	-12.6	21.8	41.9	-20.0	7.7	3.4	4.3	0.7	-1.5	2.2
Japan	Q3/2017	31.2	33.4	-2.2	16.4	16.9	-0.5	8.9	4.5	4.4	5.1	11.6	-6.5
	Q3/2018	32.6	34.4	-1.8	17.7	17.3	0.5	8.5	4.6	3.9	4.3	4.1	0.2
Canada	Q3/2017	21.0	14.9	6.1	9.6	5.9	3.7	6.0	3.8	2.2	2.4	-5.5	7.9
	Q3/2018	23.5	14.6	8.9	10.7	6.4	4.4	6.6	4.0	2.6	3.0	-3.2	6.2
Hong Kong	Q3/2017	17.8	10.7	7.1	10.5	5.4	5.2	3.3	2.8	0.5	2.5	3.1	-0.6
	Q3/2018	19.1	11.8	7.3	10.7	6.1	4.6	3.3	3.2	0.1	2.5	-0.8	3.3
India	Q3/2017	16.3	15.8	0.5	10.2	10.1	0.1	3.9	4.0	-0.1	3.1	0.7	2.4
	Q3/2018	19.0	18.0	1.1	12.4	11.5	0.8	4.4	4.8	-0.4	-0.3	0.1	-0.4
Brazil	Q3/2017	17.2	10.4	6.8	8.7	6.9	1.9	4.0	2.0	2.0	3.3	0.2	3.1
	Q3/2018	17.1	10.8	6.3	8.6	7.2	1.4	3.9	2.1	1.8	-5.0	1.2	-6.3
Offshore financial centres	Q3/2017	67.0	66.9	0.1	27.5	12.9	14.6	17.0	27.9	-10.8	15.8	20.1	-4.3
	Q3/2018	71.3	71.7	-0.4	29.9	13.9	15.9	17.6	30.1	-12.6	22.6	-36.3	58.9
Other countries	Q3/2017	319.8	292.5	27.3	194.9	177.3	17.6	77.5	47.4	30.1	25.3	11.0	14.3
	Q3/2018	332.5	327.9	4.6	197.0	202.2	-5.2	83.1	55.5	27.7	19.6	6.2	13.3

* excluding Hong Kong

Source:Eurostat

Current account and trade in services balances - national data (intra-EU + extra-EU) - neither calendar nor seasonally adjusted (bn euro)

Current account balance					Trade in services balance
Q3 2017	Q4 2017	Q1 2018	Q2 2018	Q3 2018	Q3 2017	Q4 2017	Q1 2018	Q2 2018	Q3 2018
Belgium	1.0	0.1	1.5	0.3	-0.6	-0.3	1.7	-0.2	-0.4	-1.5
Bulgaria	2.6	-0.2	0.0	0.3	2.2	1.9	0.2	0.3	0.7	1.9
Czechia	-1.3	0.0	2.2	0.3	-1.7	1.2	1.1	1.3	1.4	0.9
Denmark	5.8	5.4	2.2	3.7	5.9	1.2	0.8	0.0	-0.2	0.6
Germany	64.0	74.4	71.1	64.3	51.7	-11.8	-1.4	-0.6	-3.6	-11.2
Estonia	0.3	0.3	-0.1	0.1	0.1	0.6	0.5	0.3	0.5	0.5
Ireland	13.8	9.4	9.6	10.2	9.1	0.7	-4.0	-1.3	-2.0	0.6
Greece	4.1	-3.4	-3.2	-1.5	3.2	10.0	2.3	1.1	4.8	10.5
Spain	6.7	10.4	-2.1	2.9	2.6	19.1	12.3	8.9	15.2	17.8
France	3.2	3.5	-12.9	-0.5	-2.5	9.5	6.3	5.2	6.4	10.3
Croatia	3.9	-0.5	-2.0	0.2	4.0	5.9	0.6	0.3	2.4	6.2
Italy	16.2	16.4	4.8	10.5	15.1	1.8	-3.0	-2.6	0.8	2.9
Cyprus	0.3	-1.2	-0.1	-0.3	0.1	1.4	1.0	0.6	1.2	1.4
Latvia	-0.2	0.3	0.2	0.0	-0.4	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.6
Lithuania	0.1	0.5	-0.2	-0.1	0.1	0.9	0.8	0.8	1.0	1.1
Luxembourg	0.4	0.2	2.0	-0.6	1.4	5.2	6.0	5.8	6.0	5.5
Hungary	1.0	0.3	0.7	0.7	-0.1	2.2	1.8	1.8	2.0	2.3
Malta	0.4	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.5	1.2	0.8	0.8	1.1	1.2
Netherlands	17.9	24.1	20.3	16.8	20.5	0.6	2.9	2.6	3.5	1.8
Austria	0.4	2.4	5.3	1.0	0.9	1.4	2.7	5.9	0.7	1.4
Poland	0.0	-1.3	0.6	0.7	-2.5	4.5	4.8	5.2	5.9	5.3
Portugal	1.9	0.5	-0.4	-2.0	1.5	5.6	3.9	2.6	4.2	6.0
Romania	-1.3	-1.2	-1.0	-2.7	-3.2	2.2	2.0	1.9	2.0	2.1
Slovenia	1.0	0.7	0.7	1.0	1.1	0.8	0.6	0.6	0.8	1.0
Slovakia	-0.7	-0.4	-0.1	-0.3	-0.7	0.4	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.3
Finland	0.4	0.4	-0.4	-2.1	-0.8	-0.3	0.1	-0.3	-1.0	-0.5
Sweden	4.3	3.8	2.1	0.4	3.7	0.9	1.5	0.3	0.8	0.3
United Kingdom	-24.1	-12.5	-22.5	-20.9	-35.4	27.2	37.9	29.7	32.7	24.1
Iceland	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	:	0.9	0.4	0.3	0.4	:
Norway	3.5	3.5	7.3	8.3	9.6	-1.9	-2.5	-1.8	-2.0	-1.6
Switzerland	7.0	11.1	15.6	19.4	12.8	4.7	2.9	4.8	3.9	4.4
Montenegro	0.3	-0.4	-0.3	-0.3	0.2	0.6	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.7
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	0.2	-0.1	-0.1	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2
Albania	-0.1	-0.3	-0.2	-0.2	-0.1	0.4	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.4
Serbia	-0.4	-0.7	-0.7	-0.3	-0.5	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.3
Turkey	-8.5	-13.6	-13.3	-12.5	1.2	8.5	3.7	2.5	4.4	9.3
Kosovo*	0.2	-0.2	-0.2	-0.3	0.1	0.6	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.6

* Kosovo, under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244/99.

Source:Eurostat

: not available.