Current account
The current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €283 billion (1.8% of euro area GDP) in the four quarters to the third quarter of 2025, following a €425 billion surplus (2.8% of GDP) a year earlier (Table 1). This decrease was mainly driven by a shift in the balance for primary income from a surplus (€55 billion) to a deficit (€41 billion) and, to a lesser extent, by a wider deficit for secondary income (from €161 billion to €188 billion) as well as a lower surplus for services (from €168 billion to €144 billion). These developments were partly offset by a larger surplus for goods (from €362 billion to €368 billion).
Estimates on goods trade broken down by product group show that in the four quarters to the third quarter of 2025, the increase in the goods surplus was mainly due to a larger surplus for chemical products (from €268 billion to €310 billion) and a smaller deficit for energy products (from €266 billion to €242 billion). These developments were partly offset by a shrinking surplus for machinery and manufactured products (from €304 billion to €260 billion).
The smaller surplus for services in the four quarters to the third quarter of 2025 was mainly due to larger deficits for other business services (from €45 billion to €78 billion) and for charges for the use of intellectual property (from €109 billion to €136 billion). These developments were partly offset by a widening surplus for telecommunication, computer and information services (from €202 billion to €230 billion).
The shift from surplus to deficit in primary income in the four quarters to the third quarter of 2025 was mainly due to a strong reduction in the surplus in direct investment (from €104 billion to €17 billion) and a larger deficit in portfolio equity (from €190 billion to €205 billion).