Eurozone current surplus shrinks

THE eurozone’s current account surplus shrunk in July on a lower trade surplus and a drop in primary income, which includes the flow of profits, wages, interest income and dividends into and out of the bloc, European Central Bank data showed on Thursday (Sep 19).

The seasonally adjusted current account surplus fell to 39.6 billion euros in July from 50.5 billion euros a month earlier. Based on unadjusted figures, the surplus fell to 48 billion from 52.4 billion.

In the 12 months to July, the bloc’s surplus rose to 2.6 per cent of GDP from 0.5 per cent in the preceding 12 months. REUTERS