The euro zone had a current account surplus of €3.9bn in June, compared with a deficit of €1.0bn a year earlier, data published by the European Central Bank today showed.
The euro zone had a current account surplus of €3.9 billion in June, compared with a deficit of €1 billion a year earlier, data published by the European Central Bank today showed.
The ECB attributed the development primarily to an increase in the goods surplus to €2.1 billion in June from €8.4 billion a year earlier.
At the same time, both the current transfers and income deficits narrowed, while the surplus for services remained virtually unchanged for the 12-nation zone, the ECB said.
In the first half of the year as a whole, the single currency area's current account swung to a surplus of €9.3 billion in the period from January to June from a deficit of €20.4 billion a year earlier, the statement said.
The current account is a broad measure of a country or region's foreign trade, incorporating goods, services and revenues from investment and tourism.
Looking at the euro zone's financial account, which measures the flows of capital in and out of the single currency region, the ECB calculated that there was a net outflow of capital of €1.3 billion in June, compared with a net inflow of €18.8 billion a year earlier.
However, in the first six months as a whole, only €16.6bn in capital flowed out of the euro zone, much smaller than the net capital outflow of €105.1 billion a year earlier.