Euro area's YoY current account deficit at €114 bn in Feb '23: ECB

The shift in current account balance was mainly driven by a switch from a goods surplus of €214 billion to a deficit of €51 billion, a primary income surplus of €57 billion to a deficit of €20 billion, and a slightly larger secondary income deficit of €161 billion from €158 billion.

However, in February 2023, the euro area's current account balance recorded a surplus of €24 billion, up by €5 billion from the previous month. This was primarily driven by a goods surplus of €28 billion, which was partly offset by deficits for secondary income of €12 billion and primary income of €5 billion, as per ECB.

In the 12 months to February 2023, euro area residents made net disinvestments of €209 billion in non-euro area assets, following net investments of €132 billion in the previous year. Meanwhile, non-residents disinvested €344 billion in net terms from euro area assets, following net disinvestments of €86 billion in the previous year.

In other investment categories, euro area residents recorded net disposals of non-euro area assets amounting to €29 billion in the 12 months to February 2023, compared to net acquisitions of €380 billion in the previous year. However, they recorded net disposals of liabilities amounting to €194 billion, following net acquisitions of €808 billion in the previous year.

The monetary presentation of the balance of payments revealed that the net external assets of euro area monetary financial institutions decreased by €91 billion in the 12 months to February 2023. Moreover, in February 2023, the Eurosystem's reserve assets decreased to €1,096.1 billion, down from €1,125.4 billion in the previous month.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)