According to the report from European Central Bank, the current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €23 billion in April 2021, an increase of €5 billion from the previous month. Surpluses were recorded for goods (€27 billion), services (€8 billion) and primary income (€1 billion). These were partly offset by a deficit for secondary income (€13 billion).

In the 12 months to April 2021, the current account recorded a surplus of €288 billion (2.5% of euro area GDP), compared with a surplus of €239 billion (2.0% of euro area GDP) in the 12 months to April 2020. This increase was driven by a larger surplus for services (up from €27 billion to €82 billion) and, to a lesser extent, for goods (up from €321 billion to €359 billion). These developments were partly offset by a reduction in the surplus for primary income (down from €41 billion to €16 billion) and an increase in the deficit for secondary income (up from €151 billion to €168 billion).

In financial account, euro area residents’ net acquisitions of non-euro area portfolio investment securities totalled €1 trillion and non-residents’ net acquisitions of euro area portfolio investment securities totalled €159 billion in 12 months to April 2021