Eurozone current account swings back to a surplus in June

THE eurozone’s current account swung back to a small surplus in June on an improvement in the trade of services and higher primary income, which includes earning from investments abroad, European Central Bank data showed on Friday (Aug 19).

The 19-country currency bloc has run a large current account surplus for the past decade thanks to massive exports of goods and services but its fortunes have turned since Russia’s war in Ukraine pushed up its import bill for raw materials from natural gas to metals.

The adjusted current account surplus was 4.24 billion euros in June after a 6.93 billion euro deficit in May. A year earlier, the bloc’s surplus was 27.7 billion euros.

In the 12 months to June, the current account surplus narrowed to 0.9 per cent of GDP from 3.1 per cent in the preceding year. REUTERS