According to the report from European Central Bank, the current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €25 billion in September 2020, increasing by €4 billion from the previous month. Surpluses were recorded for goods (€33 billion) and services (€7 billion). Deficits were recorded for secondary income (€12 billion) and primary income (€2 billion).

In the 12 months to September 2020, the current account recorded a surplus of €222 billion (1.9% of euro area GDP), compared with a surplus of €270 billion (2.3% of euro area GDP) in the 12 months to September 2019. This decline was driven by reductions in the surpluses for services (down from €72 billion to €20 billion) and for primary income (down from €65 billion to €22 billion). These developments were partly offset by a larger surplus for goods (up from €298 billion to €327 billion) and a smaller deficit for secondary income (down from €164 billion to €147 billion).

In financial account, euro area residents’ net acquisitions of foreign portfolio investment securities totalled €462 billion and non-residents’ net acquisitions of euro area portfolio investment securities totalled €384 billion in 12 months to September 2020