The FINANCIAL — The EU281 seasonally adjusted external current account2 recorded a surplus of €13.0 billion in May 2015, compared with a surplus of €11.9 bn in April 2015 and a surplus of €4.8 bn in May 2014, according to estimates3 from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
In May 2015, compared with April 2015, based on seasonally adjusted data, the surplus of the services account grew (€14.3 bn compared with €8.3 bn), while the deficit of the secondary income account remained stable (€7.0 bn). The surplus of the goods account fell (€7.4 bn compared with €11.5 bn) and the deficit of the primary income account increased slightly (€1.7 bn compared with -€0.9 bn), according to Eurostat.
The 12-month cumulated current account for the period ending in May 2015 recorded a surplus of €118.8 billion, compared with €104.9 billion for the 12 months to May 2014. The surplus of the goods account grew (€68.1 bn compared with €29.6 bn) and the surplus of the services account rose slightly (€154.6 bn compared with €153.5 bn). The deficit of the primary income account grew (€25.3 bn compared with €5.6 bn), as did the deficit of the secondary income account (€78.6 bn compared with €72.6 bn).
1.The European Union (EU28) includes Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The euro area (EA19) includes Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.
2.The current account covers all transactions occurring between resident and non-resident entities, and refers to international trade in goods and services, as well as primary and secondary income.
3.The EU balance of payments estimates for the reference month are based on figures provided by the Member States to Eurostat 44 days after the end of the reference month, and should be considered as provisional. Figures may be subject to revision when data for later months are transmitted by the Member States.
4.In line with the agreed allocation of responsibility, the European Central Bank (ECB) is in charge of compiling and disseminating monthly and quarterly balance of payments and quarterly international investment position statistics for the euro area, whereas the European Commission (Eurostat) focuses on monthly, quarterly and annual aggregates of the EU. The aggregates for the euro area and the EU are compiled consistently on the basis of Member States’ transactions with residents of countries outside the euro area and the European Union respectively.
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