Monthly developments in September 2003, revisions for August 2003 and international investment position of the euro area as at end-2002

Current account in surplus

Compared with the revised data for August, the seasonally adjusted current account surplus rose by EUR 5.0 billion, mainly as a result of an increase in the goods surplus (by EUR 3.5 billion). Other sub-items also contributed to this development: the services surplus increased, while the income and current transfers deficits decreased.

The seasonally adjusted current account of the euro area showed a surplus of EUR 7.7 billion in September 2003 (EUR 9.3 billion in non-seasonally adjusted terms). This reflected surpluses in both the goods (EUR 13.7 billion) and services (EUR 1.4 billion) balances that were partly offset by deficits in the income (EUR 2.2 billion) and current transfers (EUR 5.2 billion) balances.

Euro area balance of payments: 12-month cumulated flows (Euro 12; EUR billions) –– net portfolio investment

––– current account balance       ------ net direct investment      

Net outflows in the financial account

Direct investment by euro area residents abroad amounted to EUR 12.0 billion, while direct investment by non-residents in the euro area amounted to EUR 2.5 billion. Other investment recorded net outflows of EUR 12.2 billion, mainly as a result of net outflows registered by the monetary financial institution (MFI) sector (EUR 10.2 billion). Template on international reserves and foreign currency liquidity

Euro area net international investment position as at end-2002

At the end of 2002, the total foreign outstanding assets held by euro area residents amounted to EUR 7.28 trillion. This implies a decrease of EUR 0.26 trillion (3.4 %) compared with the situation at end-2001. At the end of 2002, the outstanding euro area assets held by non-residents (i.e. euro area liabilities) amounted to EUR 7.57 trillion, which was the result of a decline of EUR 0.16 trillion (2.1%) on the previous year. The net debtor position in other investment declined from EUR 389 billion at the end of 2001 to EUR 316 billion at the end of 2002. Finally, euro area reserve assets declined from EUR 393 billion at the end of 2001 to EUR 366 billion at the end of 2002.

In the financial account, combined direct and portfolio investment showed a net outflow of EUR 1.3 billion in September 2003, owing to net outflows in direct investment (EUR 9.6 billion), which were only partly offset by net inflows in portfolio investment (EUR 8.3 billion). Portfolio investment by euro area residents abroad amounted to EUR 20.9 billion, which was more than offset by portfolio investment by non-residents in the euro area (EUR 29.1 billion). As regards the sub-items of portfolio investment, net purchases by non-residents of euro area equity securities (EUR 13.9 billion) were higher than the purchases of foreign equities by euro area investors (EUR 6.5 billion). The flows in debt instruments were of a similar magnitude for assets (EUR 14.3 billion) and liabilities (EUR 15.2 billion). Reserve assets increased by EUR 0.2 billion (excluding valuation effects). The stock of the Eurosystem's reserve assets stood at EUR 332.9 billion at the end of September 2003 (   ). The international investment position (i.i.p.) of the euro area vis-à-vis the rest of the world recorded net liabilities of EUR 290 billion at the end of 2002 (representing 4.1 % of euro area GDP). This implies an increase in net liabilities of EUR 100 billion compared to end-2001 positions. The increase in the debtor position of the euro area in 2002 mostly reflects the decline in the net direct investment asset position and the increase in the net portfolio investment liability position. The asset position in direct investment decreased by EUR 71 billion to EUR 425 billion at the end of 2002. Conversely, the net debtor position in portfolio investment increased by EUR 65 billion to EUR 756 billion at the end of 2002, owing to an increased debtor position in bonds and notes.

Data revisions

Additional information on the euro area balance of payments and international investment position

ECB Monthly Bulletin

Annexes

In addition to the monthly balance of payments data for September 2003, this press release incorporates revisions for August 2003. Revisions of the financial account mostly concerned the portfolio investment item, where net outflows in bonds and notes were amended from EUR 19.5 billion to EUR 23.5 billion. The results up to September 2003 will also be published in the December 2003 issue of the . A detailed methodological note is available on the ECB's website. The next press release on euro area balance of payments will be published on 23 December 2003.

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European Central Bank Press and Information Division Kaiserstrasse 29, D-60311 Frankfurt am Main Tel.: +49 69 13 44 74 55, Fax: +49 69 13 44 74 04 Internet: http://www.ecb.europa.eu

: Euro area current account - seasonally adjusted data. : Monthly balance of payments of the euro area - non-seasonally adjusted data. : International investment position of the euro area. Reproduction is permitted provided that the source is acknowledged