Euro area balance of payments in April 2011

In April 2011 the seasonally adjusted current account of the euro area recorded a deficit of EUR 5.1 billion. In the financial account, combined direct and portfolio investment recorded net inflows of EUR 21 billion (non-seasonally adjusted).

Current account

The seasonally adjusted current account of the euro area recorded a deficit of EUR 5.1 billion in April 2011 (see Table 1). This reflected deficits for current transfers (EUR 7.3 billion) and goods (EUR 4.1 billion), which were partially offset by surpluses for income (EUR 3.6 billion) and services (EUR 2.7 billion).

The 12-month cumulated seasonally adjusted current account recorded a deficit of EUR 52.3 billion in April 2011 (around 0.6% of euro area GDP; see Table 1 and Chart 1), compared with a deficit of EUR 12.4 billion a year earlier. This increase resulted mainly from a decrease in the surplus for goods (from EUR 44.6 billion to EUR 1.9 billion) and, to a lesser extent, from a shift for the income account from a surplus (EUR 3.6 billion) to a deficit (EUR 2.7 billion), which were partly offset by an increase in the surplus for services (from EUR 35.4 billion to EUR 42.7 billion) and a decrease in the deficit for current transfers (from EUR 96.1 billion to EUR 94.2 billion).

Financial account

In the financial account (see Table 2), combined direct and portfolio investment recorded net inflows of EUR 21 billion in April 2011. This was due to net inflows for portfolio investment (EUR 48 billion), which were partly offset by net outflows for direct investment (EUR 27 billion).

The net outflows for direct investment resulted mainly from net outflows for equity capital and reinvested earnings (EUR 30 billion).

The net inflows for portfolio investment were accounted for primarily by net inflows for debt instruments (EUR 90 billion), which were partially offset by net outflows for equity (EUR 42 billion). The net inflows for debt instruments resulted mainly from net purchases by foreign investors of euro area long-term debt securities such as bonds and notes (EUR 72 billion).

The financial derivatives account was close to balance.

Other investment recorded net outflows of EUR 22 billion, reflecting net outflows for other sectors (EUR 22 billion), the Eurosystem (EUR 5 billion) and general government (EUR 3 billion), which were partly offset by net inflows for MFIs excluding the Eurosystem (EUR 8 billion).

The Eurosystem’s stock of reserve assets decreased from EUR 577 billion to EUR 572 billion in April 2011, mainly on account of net transactions (EUR 6 billion).

In the 12-month period to April 2011, combined direct and portfolio investment recorded cumulated net inflows of EUR 221 billion, compared with net inflows of EUR 169 billion in the preceding 12-month period. This increase was mainly the result of lower net outflows for direct investment (down from EUR 101 billion to EUR 63 billion) and higher net inflows for portfolio investment (up from EUR 270 billion to EUR 284 billion). The lower net outflows for direct investment mainly reflected lower net outflows for other capital (mostly inter-company loans).

Data revisions

This press release incorporates revisions to the data for March 2011. These revisions have not significantly changed the previously published data.

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

In this press release, the seasonally adjusted current account refers to working day and seasonally adjusted data. Data for the financial account are not working day or seasonally adjusted.

In line with the agreed allocation of responsibilities, the European Central Bank compiles and disseminates monthly and quarterly balance of payments statistics for the euro area, whereas the European Commission (Eurostat; see news releases for “Euro-indicators”) focuses on quarterly and annual aggregates for the European Union. These data comply with international standards, particularly those set out in the IMF’s Balance of Payments Manual (fifth edition). The aggregates for the euro area and the European Union are compiled consistently on the basis of transactions and positions vis-à-vis residents of countries outside the euro area and the European Union respectively.

A complete set of updated euro area balance of payments statistics (including a quarterly geographical breakdown for the main counterparts) and international investment position statistics is available in the “Statistics” section of the ECB’s website under the headings “Data services”/“Latest monetary, financial markets and balance of payments statistics”. These data, as well as historical euro area balance of payments time series, can be downloaded from the ECB’s Statistical Data Warehouse (SDW). Data up to April 2011 will also be published in the July 2011 issues of the ECB’s Monthly Bulletin and Statistics Pocket Book. Detailed methodological notes are available on the ECB’s website. The next press release on the euro area monthly balance of payments, including the quarterly international investment position, will be published on 21 July 2011.

Annexes

Table 1: Current account of the euro area

Table 2: Monthly balance of payments of the euro area