First estimate for the first quarter of 2011 EU27 current account deficit 32.8 bn euro 19.2 bn euro surplus on trade in services

STAT/11/81

9 June 2011

First estimate for the first quarter of 2011
EU27 current account deficit 32.8 bn euro
19.2 bn euro surplus on trade in services

The EU271 external current account2 recorded a deficit of 32.8 billion euro in the first quarter of 2011, compared with a deficit of 27.7 bn in the first quarter of 2010 and a deficit of 18.2 bn in the fourth quarter of 2010.

In the first quarter of 2011, the EU27 external balance of trade in goods was in deficit by 41.8 bn euro, compared with a deficit of 32.6 bn in the first quarter of 2010 and a deficit of 29.3 bn in the fourth quarter of 2010. In the first quarter of 2011, the external balance of trade in services was in surplus by 19.2 bn euro, compared with a surplus of 11.5 bn in the first quarter of 2010 and a surplus of 20.8 bn in the fourth quarter of 2010.

These provisional data3, issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, will be subject to revision.

Balance of payments euro-indicators for the EU27

(in bn euro)

Source: Eurostat

Balance of payments euro-indicators for the euro area4 (EA17)

(in bn euro)

Source: European Central Bank

Balance of payments euro-indicators for the euro area (EA17) - Monthly data5

(in bn euro)

Source: European Central Bank

• The EU27 includes Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The euro area (EA17) consists of Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Estonia, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

• The current account shows flows of goods, services, income and current transfers between resident and non-resident entities. More specifically, the four main components of the current account are defined as follows:

The goods account covers general merchandise, goods for processing, repairs on goods, goods procured in ports by carriers and non-monetary gold. Exports and imports of goods are recorded on a f.o.b./f.o.b. basis, i.e. at market value at the customs frontiers of exporting economies, including charges for insurance and transport services up to the frontier of the exporting country.

The services account consists of the following items: transportation services performed by EU residents for non-EU residents, or vice versa, involving the carriage of passengers, the movement of goods, rentals of carriers with crew and related supporting and auxiliary services, travel, which includes primarily the goods and services EU travellers acquire from non-EU residents, or vice versa, and other services, which comprise those service transactions such as communication services, insurance, financial services etc.

The income account covers two types of transactions: compensation of employees paid to non-resident workers or received from non-resident employers, and investment income accrued on external financial assets and liabilities.

The current transfers account includes general government current transfers, e.g. transfers related to international co-operation between governments, payments of current taxes on income and wealth, etc., and other current transfers, e.g. workers’ remittances, insurance premiums - less service charges - and claims on non-life insurance companies.

• The EU balance of payments euro-indicators (first estimates for the reference quarter) are based on figures provided by the Member States to Eurostat two months after the reference quarter, and should be considered as provisional. This News Release corresponds to these first estimates. Eurostat then produces a second release once the quarterly data are transmitted to Eurostat, on a more detailed basis, three months after the reference quarter. Figures may also be subject to revision when data for later quarters are transmitted by the Member States. The second release for the first quarter of 2011 will be issued on 22 July 2011.

• In line with the agreed allocation of responsibility, the European Central Bank (ECB) (www.ecb.int, section statistics/statistical press releases) is in charge of compiling and disseminating monthly and quarterly balance of payments statistics for the euro area, whereas the European Commission (Eurostat) focuses on quarterly and annual aggregates of the EU. The data comply with international standards, in particular those set out in the IMF Manual on Balance of Payments Statistics (5th edition). 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.

• Monthly data may not add up to quarterly data due to rounding.

Eurostat news releases on the internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

Selected Principal European Economic Indicators: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/euroindicators