Euro area quarterly balance of payments and international investment position: third quarter of 2024

Current account

The current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €403 billion (2.7% of euro area GDP) in the four quarters to the third quarter of 2024, following a €191 billion surplus (1.3% of GDP) a year earlier (Table 1). This development was mainly driven by a larger surplus for goods (from €186 billion to €365 billion) and, to a lesser extent, by widening surpluses for services (from €138 billion to €153 billion) and for primary income (from €31 billion to €44 billion). Moreover, the deficit for secondary income decreased moderately from €163 billion to €159 billion.

The estimates on goods trade broken down by product group show that, in the four quarters to the third quarter of 2024, the increase in the goods surplus was mainly due to a smaller deficit in energy products (from €366 billion to €267 billion). In addition, the surplus for machinery and manufactured products increased from €259 billion to €306 billion, while the balance for other products switched from a €18 billion deficit to a €2 billion surplus.

The higher surplus for services in the four quarters to the third quarter of 2024 was mainly due to larger surpluses for telecommunication, computer and information (from €162 billion to €192 billion) and for travel (from €51 billion to €59 billion), and a lower deficit for other business services (from €48 billion to €41 billion). This was partly offset by a widening deficit for other services (from €59 billion to €82 billion) and a smaller surplus for transport (from €8 billion to €1 billion).
The increase in the primary income surplus in the four quarters to the third quarter of 2024 was mainly due to larger surpluses in direct investment (from €77 billion to €109 billion) and other primary income (from €5 billion to €15 billion), partly offset by a larger deficit in portfolio equity (from €152 billion to €186 billion).

Data for the current account of the euro area

Data on the geographical counterparts of the euro area current account (Chart 1) show that in the four quarters to the third quarter of 2024, the euro area recorded its largest bilateral surpluses vis-à-vis the United Kingdom (€210 billion, up from €200 billion a year earlier) and Switzerland (€79 billion, down from €82 billion). The euro area also recorded a surplus vis-à-vis the residual group of other countries of €104 billion, up from €32 billion a year earlier, while the balance vis-à-vis the United States shifted from a deficit (€31 billion) to a surplus (€7 billion). The largest bilateral deficit was recorded vis-à-vis China (€90 billion, down from €115 billion a year earlier).

The most significant changes in the geographical components of the current account relative to the previous year were as follows: the goods surplus increased vis-à-vis the United Kingdom (from €125 billion to €147 billion) and vis-à-vis the United States (from €180 billion to €203 billion). The goods deficit vis-à-vis China declined from €144 billion to €121 billion, while the balance vis-à-vis Russia shifted from a deficit (€18 billion) to a surplus (€4 billion). Moreover, the balance vis-à-vis the residual group of Other countries shifted from a deficit (€52 billion) to a surplus (€46 billion), which was partly explained by a smaller deficit vis-à-vis Norway (from €30 billion to €20 billion) and a shift from a deficit (€3 billion) to a surplus (€7 billion) vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia. In services, the deficit vis-à-vis the United States increased (from €117 billion to €146 billion), which was more than offset by a shift from a deficit (€13 billion) to a surplus (€17 billion) vis-à-vis Offshore centres. In primary income, a smaller deficit was recorded vis-à-vis the United States (from €93 billion to €49 billion), partly offset by a smaller surplus vis-à-vis the United Kingdom (from €22 billion to €10 billion). The deficit in secondary income vis-à-vis the EU Member States and EU institutions outside the euro area decreased (from €75 billion to €66 billion).