Euro Zone Current Account Surplus Shrinks in July

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The euro zone’s current account surplus shrunk in July due to a lower trade surplus and a decrease in primary income, according to data from the European Central Bank released on Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted current account surplus fell to 39.6 billion euros in July, down from 50.5 billion euros the previous month. Based on unadjusted figures, the surplus decreased to 48.0 billion euros from 52.4 billion euros.

In the 12 months leading to July, the bloc’s surplus increased to 2.6% of GDP, up from 0.5% in the same period the previous year.