Current account
The current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €275 billion (1.7% of euro area GDP) in the four quarters to the first quarter of 2026, following a €352 billion surplus (2.3% of GDP) a year earlier (Table 1). This decrease was mainly driven by a lower surplus for goods (from €344 billion to €313 billion), a wider deficit for secondary income (from €171 billion to €197 billion) and by a smaller surplus for services (from €169 billion to €149 billion). Moreover, the surplus for primary income decreased moderately from €11 billion to €10 billion.
Estimates on goods trade broken down by product group show that over the four quarters to the first quarter of 2026, the decrease in the goods surplus was mainly due to smaller surpluses for chemical products (from €308 billion to €253 billion) and for machinery and manufactured products (from €255 billion to €231 billion). These developments were partly offset by a smaller deficit for energy products (from €264 billion to €220 billion).
The smaller surplus for services in the four quarters to the first quarter of 2026 was mainly due to larger deficits for charges for the use of intellectual property (from €115 billion to €141 billion) and for other business services (from €55 billion to €70 billion). These developments were partly offset by a widening surplus for telecommunication, computer and information services (from €218 billion to €237 billion) and a larger surplus for travel (from €58 billion to €69 billion).
The modest decrease in the surplus in primary income in the four quarters to the first quarter of 2026 was mainly due to a reduction in the surplus for direct investment (from €71 billion to €53 billion), partly offset by a larger surplus for other investment (from €5 billion to €14 billion) and portfolio debt (from €82 billion to €89 billion).
