According to the report from European Central Bank, the current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €30 billion in January 2021, decreasing by €7 billion from the previous month. Surpluses were recorded for goods (€39 billion) and services (€12 billion). These were partly offset by deficits for secondary income (€17 billion) and primary income (€4 billion).

In the 12 months to January 2021, the current account recorded a surplus of €263 billion (2.3% of euro area GDP), compared with a surplus of €262 billion (2.2% of euro area GDP) in the 12 months to January 2020. The surplus for goods and for services increased (up from €330 billion to €353 billion and from €48 billion to €49 billion, respectively). The surplus for primary income (from €40 billion to €17 billion) declined and the deficit for secondary income (up from €156 billion to €157 billion) increased slightly.

In financial account, euro area residents’ net acquisitions of foreign portfolio investment securities totalled €681 billion and non-residents’ net acquisitions of euro area portfolio investment securities totalled €126 billion in 12 months to January 2021