Current account
The current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €276 billion (1.7% of euro area GDP) in 2025, following a €416 billion surplus (2.7% of GDP) a year earlier (Table 1). This decrease was mainly driven by a shift in the balance for primary income from a surplus (€54 billion) to a deficit (€44 billion) and, to a lesser extent, by a lower surplus for services (from €186 billion to €144 billion) as well as a wider deficit for secondary income (from €169 billion to €186 billion). These developments were partly offset by a larger surplus for goods (from €345 billion to €362 billion).
Estimates on goods trade broken down by product group show that in 2025, the increase in the goods surplus was mainly due to a smaller deficit for energy products (from €259 billion to €229 billion) and a larger surplus for chemical products (from €277 billion to €298 billion). These developments were partly offset by a lower surplus for machinery and manufactured products (from €276 billion to €252 billion).
The smaller surplus for services in 2025 was mainly due to larger deficits for other business services (from €36 billion to €78 billion) and for charges for the use of intellectual property (from €117 billion to €138 billion). These developments were partly offset by a widening surplus for telecommunication, computer and information services (from €213 billion to €233 billion).
The shift from surplus to deficit in primary income in 2025 was mainly due to a strong reduction in the surplus for direct investment (from €102 billion to €11 billion) and, to a lesser extent, due to a larger deficit for portfolio equity (from €199 billion to €207 billion).
