According to the report from European Central Bank, the current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €12 billion in May 2021, a decrease of €10 billion from the previous month. Surpluses were recorded for goods (€25 billion) and services (€6 billion). These were partly offset by deficits for secondary income (€14 billion) and primary income (€5 billion).

In the 12 months to May 2021, the current account recorded a surplus of €310 billion (2.7% of euro area GDP), compared with a surplus of €228 billion (2.0% of euro area GDP) in the 12 months to May 2020. This increase was driven by a larger surplus for goods (up from €309 billion to €375 billion) and for services (up from €39 billion to €76 billion). These developments were partly offset by a reduction in the surplus for primary income (down from €38 billion to €27 billion) and a larger deficit for secondary income (up from €158 billion to €168 billion).

In financial account, euro area residents’ net acquisitions of non-euro area portfolio investment securities totalled €950 billion and non-residents’ net acquisitions of euro area portfolio investment securities totalled €187 billion in 12 months to May 2021