Euro area balance of payments in July 2013

In July 2013 the seasonally adjusted current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €16.9 billion. In the financial account, combined direct and portfolio investment recorded net outflows of €43 billion (non-seasonally adjusted).

Current account

The seasonally adjusted current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €16.9 billion in July 2013 (see Table 1). This reflected surpluses for goods (€13.5 billion), services (€8.5 billion) and income (€3.5 billion), which were partly offset by a deficit for current transfers (€8.6 billion).

The seasonally adjusted 12-month cumulated current account for the period ending in July 2013 recorded a surplus of €204.0 billion (2.1% of euro area GDP), compared with a surplus of €79.4 billion (0.8% of euro area GDP) for the previous 12-month period up to July 2012 (see Table 1 and Chart 1). The increase in the surplus of the current account was due mainly to higher surpluses for goods (€159.1 billion, up from €62.0 billion) and, albeit to a lesser extent, for income (€57.8 billion, after €37.3 billion) and services (€96.4 billion, after €88.1 billion).

Financial account

In the financial account (see Table 2), combined direct and portfolio investment recorded net outflows of €43 billion in July 2013, as a result of net outflows for both portfolio investment (€41 billion) and direct investment (€3 billion).

The net outflows for direct investment resulted from net outflows in other capital (mostly inter-company loans) (€13 billion) that were partly counterbalanced by net inflows in equity capital and reinvested earnings (€11 billion).

The net outflows for portfolio investment were due to net outflows for both equity (€4 billion) and debt instruments (€37 billion). The developments in debt instruments mainly reflected non-residents’ net sales of euro area bonds and notes (€38 billion), which were partly offset by non-residents’ net purchases of euro area money market instruments (€16 billion).

The financial derivatives account recorded net outflows of €1 billion.

Other investment recorded net inflows of €16 billion, reflecting net inflows for MFIs (excluding the Eurosystem) and other sectors (€10 billion in both cases) and for general government (€6 billion), which were partly offset by net outflows for the Eurosystem (€9 billion).

The Eurosystem’s stock of reserve assets increased by €25 billion in July 2013 (to €589 billion, from €564 billion in June 2013), mainly on account of an increase in the market price of gold.

In the 12-month period up to July 2013, combined direct and portfolio investment recorded cumulated net inflows of €15 billion, compared with net outflows of €18 billion in the 12-month period up to July 2012. This shift was the result of higher net inflows in portfolio investment (up from €35 billion to €101 billion), which were partly offset by higher net outflows in direct investment (up from €53 billion to €86 billion).

Data revisions

This press release incorporates revisions to the data for June 2013. These revisions have not significantly altered the figures previously published for the current, capital and financial accounts.

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 July 2013 will also be published in the October 2013 issues of the ECB’s Monthly Bulletin and the 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 and quarterly international investment position will be published on 17 October 2013.

The ECB will start publishing, at the end of 2014, the euro area balance of payments and international investment position statistics in accordance with its Guideline ECB/2011/23, which adheres to the sixth edition of the IMF’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6). More detailed information is available on a dedicated webpage.

Annexes

Table 1: Current account of the euro area

Table 2: Monthly balance of payments of the euro area