- Current account surplus at €283 billion (1.8% of euro area GDP) in four quarters to third quarter of 2025, after a €425 billion surplus (2.8% of GDP) a year earlier
- Geographical counterparts: largest bilateral current account surplus vis-à-vis United Kingdom (€206 billion) and largest deficit vis-à-vis China (€144 billion)
- International investment position showed net assets of €1.72 trillion (11.0% of euro area GDP) at end of third quarter of 2025
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).
Table 1
Current account of the euro area
(EUR billions, unless otherwise indicated; transactions during the period; non-working day and non-seasonally adjusted)
Source: ECB.
Notes: "Equity" comprises equity and investment fund shares. Goods by product group is an estimated breakdown using a method based on statistics on international trade in goods. Discrepancies between totals and their components may arise from rounding.
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 2025, the euro area recorded its largest bilateral surpluses vis-à-vis the United Kingdom (€206 billion, slightly down from €207 billion a year earlier) and Switzerland (€58 billion, down from €72 billion). The euro area also recorded surpluses vis-à-vis other emerging economies (€140 billion, down from €162 billion a year earlier), other advanced economies (€112 billion, slightly down from €113 billion) and offshore centres (€41 billion, down from €50 billion). The largest bilateral deficit was recorded vis-à-vis China (€144 billion, up from €85 billion a year earlier). The euro area also recorded deficits vis-à-vis the United States (€32 billion, following a €9 billion surplus a year earlier) and the residual group of other countries (€106 billion, down from €117 billion).
The most significant changes in the current account components by geographical counterpart over the four quarters ending in the third quarter of 2025 relative to the previous year were as follows: in goods, the surplus vis-à-vis the United States increased from €193 billion to €247 billion, while the deficit vis-à-vis China widened from €122 billion to €177 billion. In services, the deficit vis-à-vis the United States increased from €136 billion to €179 billion, while the surplus vis-à-vis EU Member States and EU institutions outside the euro area increased from €25 billion to €31 billion. In primary income, the deficit vis-à-vis the United States increased from €47 billion to €98 billion, and in secondary income the deficit vis-à-vis EU Member States and EU institutions outside the euro area increased from €65 billion to €86 billion.
Chart 1
Geographical breakdown of the euro area current account balance
(four-quarter moving sums in EUR billions; non-seasonally adjusted)
Source: ECB.
Note: "EU non-EA" comprises the non-euro area EU Member States and those EU institutions and bodies that are considered for statistical purposes as being outside the euro area, such as the European Commission and the European Investment Bank. "Other advanced" includes Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway and South Korea. "Other emerging" includes Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Türkiye. "Other countries" includes all countries and country groups not shown in the chart, as well as unallocated transactions.
Data for the geographical breakdown of the euro area current account
International investment position
At the end of the third quarter of 2025, the international investment position of the euro area recorded net assets of €1.72 trillion vis-à-vis the rest of the world (11.0% of euro area GDP), up from €1.51 trillion in the previous quarter (Chart 2 and Table 2).
Chart 2
Net international investment position of the euro area
(net amounts outstanding at the end of the period as a percentage of four-quarter moving sums of GDP)
Source: ECB.
Data for the net international investment position of the euro area
The €209 billion increase in net assets was mainly driven by higher reserve assets (up from €1.46 trillion to €1.62 trillion) and net assets in portfolio debt (up from €1.41 trillion to €1.52 trillion). This development was partly offset by lower net assets in direct investment (down from €2.75 trillion to €2.72 trillion).
Table 2
International investment position of the euro area
(EUR billions, unless otherwise indicated; amounts outstanding at the end of the period, flows during the period; non-working day and non-seasonally adjusted)
Source: ECB.
Notes: "Equity" comprises equity and investment fund shares. Net financial derivatives are reported under assets. "Other volume changes" mainly reflect reclassifications and data enhancements. Discrepancies between totals and their components may arise from rounding.
Data for the international investment position of the euro area
The developments in the euro area's net international investment position in the third quarter of 2025 were driven mainly by positive price changes (€282 billion) and, to a lesser extent, by transactions (€35 billion), which were partly offset by negative other volume changes (€66 billion) and exchange rate changes (€43 billion) (Table 2 and Chart 3).
At the end of the third quarter of 2025, direct investment assets of special purpose entities (SPEs) amounted to €3.54 trillion (28% of total euro area direct investment assets), up from €3.52 trillion at the end of the previous quarter (Table 2). Over the same period, direct investment liabilities of SPEs increased from €3.08 trillion to €3.09 trillion (32% of total direct investment liabilities).
Gross external debt of the euro area amounted to €16.96 trillion (108% of euro area GDP) at the end of the third quarter of 2025, up by €83 billion compared with the previous quarter.
Chart 3
Changes in the net international investment position of the euro area
(EUR billions; flows during the period; non-working day and non-seasonally adjusted)
Source: ECB.
Note: "Other volume changes" mainly reflect reclassifications and data enhancements.
Data for changes in the net international investment position of the euro area
Data revisions
This statistical release incorporates revisions to the data for the reference periods between the first quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2025. The revisions reflect revised national contributions to the euro area aggregates because of the incorporation of newly available information.
Next releases
- Monthly balance of payments: 20 January 2026 (reference data up to November 2025)
- Quarterly balance of payments and international investment position: 9 April 2026 (reference data up to the fourth quarter of 2025)
For queries, please use the Statistical information request form.
Notes
- Data are neither seasonally nor working day-adjusted. Ratios to GDP (including in the charts) refer to four-quarter sums of non-seasonally and non-working day-adjusted GDP figures.
- Hyperlinks in this press release lead to data that may change with subsequent releases as a result of revisions.
