7 April 2016 Press Releases
Euro area quarterly balance of payments and international investment position (fourth quarter of 2015)
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The current account of the euro area showed a surplus of €329.5 billion (3.2% of euro area GDP) in 2015.[1]
At the end of 2015 the international investment position of the euro area recorded net liabilities of €0.4 trillion (approximately 4% of euro area GDP).
For the first time, this press release includes a full reconciliation of the changes in the international investment position broken down into transactions, revaluations (price and exchange rate changes) and other volume changes.
Current account
The current account of the euro area showed a surplus of €107.8 billion in the last quarter of 2015, compared with €96.5 billion in the same quarter of 2014 (see Table 1). The increase in the current account surplus was due to an increase in the surplus for goods (from €79.1 billion to €90.8 billion) and a decrease in the deficit forsecondary income (from €32.4 billion to €30.2 billion), which were partly offset by a decrease in the surpluses for services (from €15.6 billion to €14.5 billion) and primary income (from €34.1 billion to €32.8 billion).[2]
The decrease in the surplus for services resulted mainly from a deterioration in the balances for the transport (from a surplus of €1.2 billion to a deficit of €0.3 billion),other business services (an increase in the deficit from €0.2 billion to €1.1 billion) andother services (an increase in the deficit from €5.1 billion to €6.3 billion) components. This was partly offset by an improvement in the balance for the telecommunication, computer and information services component (an increase in the surplus from €14.3 billion to €16.7 billion).
In 2015 the current account of the euro area showed a surplus of €329.5 billion (3.2% of euro area GDP), compared with one of €251.3 billion (2.5% of euro area GDP) in 2014. The rise resulted from increases in the surpluses for goods (from €247.6 billion to €321.6 billion) and primary income (from €69.8 billion to €74.8 billion), and a decrease in the deficit for secondary income (from €141.6 billion to €133.2 billion). These developments were partly offset by a decrease in the surplus for services (from €75.6 billion to €66.4 billion).
The geographical breakdown
The increase in the surplus in the euro area goods account in 2015 resulted primarily from improvements in the surpluses vis-à-vis the United Kingdom (increased from €99.3 billion to €122.7 billion) and the United States (increased from €94.8 billion to €115.5 billion), and in the change from a deficit (of €8.7 billion) to a surplus (of €43.4 billion) vis-à-vis “other countries” (including most oil producers) (See Table 2). This was partly offset by an increase in the trade in goods deficit vis-à-vis China (from €73.3 billion to €104.3 billion). The decrease in the surplus for services resulted mainly from an increase in the deficit vis-à-vis “offshore financial centres” (from €25.6 billion to €41.2 billion).
In 2015 non-euro area EU Member States (excluding the United Kingdom) remained the euro area’s main partners for trade in goods – accounting for approximately 19% of all euro area imports and exports – followed by the United Kingdom for exports and China for imports (see Chart 2). As regards euro area trade in services, the United Kingdom was the largest recipient of exports (accounting for 19% of the total) and the United States the largest provider, accounting for more than 22% of total euro area imports of services.
page source http://www.ecb.europa.eu/
European Central Bank
Directorate General Communications
Sonnemannstrasse 20, 60314 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Tel.: +49 69 1344 7455, E-mail: media@ecb.europa.eu
Website: www.ecb.europa.eu
