Current account
The current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €326 billion (2.1% of euro area GDP) in the four quarters to the second quarter of 2025, following a €396 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 (€42 billion) to a deficit (€6 billion) and, to a lesser extent, by a wider deficit for secondary income (from €164 billion to €180 billion) as well as a lower surplus for services (from €166 billion to €154 billion). These developments were partly offset by a larger surplus for goods (from €352 billion to €359 billion).
Estimates on goods trade broken down by product group show that in the four quarters to the second quarter of 2025, the increase in the goods surplus was mainly due to a larger surplus for chemical products (from €256 billion to €311 billion) and a smaller deficit for energy products (from €274 billion to €250 billion). These developments were partly offset by a shrinking surplus for machinery and manufactured products (from €313 billion to €257 billion).
The smaller surplus for services in the four quarters to the second quarter of 2025 was mainly due to larger deficits for other business services (from €42 billion to €72 billion) and for charges for the use of intellectual property (from €104 billion to €127 billion). These developments were partly offset by a widening surplus for telecommunication, computer and information services (from €194 billion to €226 billion).
The shift from surplus to deficit in primary income in the four quarters to the second quarter of 2025 was mainly due to smaller surplus in direct investment (from €94 billion to €39 billion) and a larger deficit in portfolio equity (from €184 billion to €197 billion). These developments were partly offset by a larger surplus in portfolio debt (from €69 billion to €82 billion) and other investment income (from €5 billion to €10 billion).