Press release

19 August 2020

• In June 2020 the current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €21 billion, compared with a surplus of €11 billion in May 2020.
• In the 12-month period to June 2020, the current account recorded a surplus of €267 billion (2.2% of euro area GDP), compared with a surplus of €305 billion (2.6% of euro area GDP) in the 12 months to June 2019.
• In the financial account, euro area residents made net acquisitions of foreign portfolio investment securities totalling €514 billion in the 12-month period to June 2020 (up from €134 billion in the 12 months to June 2019). Over the same period, non-residents made net acquisitions of euro area portfolio investment securities amounting to €439 billion (up from €132 billion).

The current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €21 billion in June 2020, increasing by €10 billion from the previous month (see Chart 1 and Table 1). Surpluses were recorded for goods (€25 billion), services (€4 billion) and primary income (€2 billion). These were partly offset by a deficit for secondary income (€10 billion).

Data for the current account of the euro area

In the 12 months to June 2020, the current account recorded a surplus of €267 billion (2.2% of euro area GDP), compared with a surplus of €305 billion (2.6% of euro area GDP) in the 12 months to June 2019. This decline was mainly driven by decreases in the surpluses for services (down from €88 billion to €31 billion) and primary income (down from €89 billion to €65 billion). These developments were partly offset by an increase in the surplus for goods (up from €287 billion to €321 billion) and a decrease in the deficit for secondary income (down from €159 billion to €150 billion).

In direct investment, euro area residents made net investments of €172 billion in non-euro area assets in the 12-month period to June 2020, following net disinvestments of €302 billion in the 12 months to June 2019 (see Chart 2 and Table 2). At the same time, non-residents made net investments in euro area assets of €198 billion in the 12-month period to June 2020, following net disinvestments of €275 billion in the 12 months to June 2019.

In portfolio investment, net purchases of foreign debt securities by euro area residents increased to €409 billion in the 12-month period to June 2020, following net purchases of €145 billion in the 12 months to June 2019. Over the same period, euro area residents made net purchases of foreign equity of €105 billion, after recording net sales of €12 billion in the 12 months to June 2019. Non-residents made net purchases of euro area debt securities amounting to €81 billion in the 12 months to June 2020, after recording net purchases of €46 billion in the 12 months to June 2019. Over the same period, non-residents’ net purchases of euro area equity rose to €358 billion from €86 billion.

Data for the financial account of the euro area

In other investment, euro area residents’ net acquisitions of foreign assets decreased to €223 billion in the 12 months to June 2020 (following net acquisitions of €330 billion in the 12 months to June 2019), while their net incurrence of liabilities decreased to €83 billion from €128 billion.

The monetary presentation of the balance of payments (see Chart 3) shows that the net external assets (enhanced) of euro area MFIs increased by €151 billion in the 12-month period to June 2020. This increase was mainly driven by the current and capital accounts surpluses and, to a lesser extent, by euro area non-MFIs’ net inflows in portfolio investment equity and direct investment. These developments were only partly offset by euro area non-MFIs’ net outflows in portfolio investment debt securities and by other flows (particularly other investment net outflows).

In June 2020 the Eurosystem’s stock of reserve assets increased to €905.0 billion, up from €895.8 billion in the previous month (see Table 3). This increase was driven by positive price changes (€9.8 billion), particularly for monetary gold.

Data for the reserve assets of the euro area

Data revisions

This press release incorporates revisions to the data for April and May 2020. These revisions did not significantly alter the figures previously published.

The production of monthly b.o.p. statistics has in most countries been affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The lockdown measures implemented across the euro area have created challenges for the data collection and compilation process. In addition, the abrupt economic impact of these measures has caused particular difficulties for the estimation of infra-annual data, whose releases are therefore subject to higher uncertainty. More information on the potential impact of the COVID-19 crisis on b.o.p. statistics can be found here.

Next releases:

• monthly balance of payments: 18 September 2020 (reference data up to July 2020)
• quarterly balance of payments and international investment position: 2 October 2020 (reference data up to the second quarter of 2020)

For media queries, please contact Philippe Rispal, tel.: +49 69 1344 5482.

Notes

• Hyperlinks in this press release lead to data that may change with subsequent releases as a result of revisions.