EU27 Current Account Gap Narrows Sharply In Q1
The EU27 current account deficit narrowed notably to EUR 4.1 billion in the first quarter from EUR 31.3 billion in the same period of last year, Eurostat reported Thursday.
Nonetheless, the current account was in EUR 17.8 billion surplus in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The deficit on trade in goods declined to EUR 31.6 billion from EUR 47.3 billion the prior year, while the surplus in services rose to EUR 31.1 billion. Likewise, the surplus of the income account increased to EUR 14.4 billion. The deficit on current transfers remained almost stable at EUR 17.9 billion.
The current account deficit was equivalent to 0.1 percent of GDP in the first quarter compared to 1 percent in the prior year.