Euro area’s and EU’s current account surplus narrows in May

The European Union has recorded a current account surplus of EUR 10.5 billion in May 2016, as compared with April’s surplus of EUR 12.9 billion and May 2015’s surplus of EUR 9.4 billion, according to Eurostat.

Seasonally adjusted goods accounts surplus in May dropped to EUR 11.1 billion from April’s surplus of EUR 13.2 billion. Meanwhile the primary income account deficit widened to EUR 4.4 billion, as compared with April’s deficit of EUR 2.7 billion. According to the Eurostat, services account surplus widened to EUR 10.6 billion in May from April’s EUR 9.8 billion, whereas the secondary income account deficit narrowed to EUR 6.8 billion from EUR 7.4 billion in April.

Compared with May 2015, current account recorded a surplus of EUR 142.1 billion in May 2016, an increase from May 2015’s surplus of EUR 127 billion. Meanwhile, goods account surplus widened to EUR 129.5 billion in the same period, as compared with May 2015’s EUR 51.5 billion.

Meanwhile services account surplus in the EU narrowed to EUR 137.2 billion from EUR 149.4 billion. The secondary income account deficit widened to EUR 80.3 billion from EUR 76.7 billion, whereas primary income account recorded a deficit of EUR 44.4 billion, as compared with May 2015’s surplus of EUR 2.9 billion.

In the mean time, current account surplus of the euro area narrowed in May, whereas direct investment increased sharply. The current account surplus in the euro zone declined to EUR 30.8 billion in May from April’s EUR 36.4 billion. According to the ECB, goods surplus came in at EUR 30.6 billion, services surplus at EUR 5.9 billion, and primary income surplus at EUR 3.2 billion. These surpluses were partially countered by a deficit of EUR 8.9 billion in secondary income.

Compared with May 2015, euro area’s current account surplus came in at EUR 37.1 billion in May 2016, 3.3 percent of euro area’s GDP. This is an increase from May 2015’s surplus of EUR 289.7 billion.