Euro Area Current Account Surplus Drops to 9 Billion Euros in August as Gold Lifts Reserves
The euro area ran a current account surplus of 9 billion euros in August, down from 27 billion euros in July, the European Central Bank said on 20 October. Goods trade drove most of the drop, on our calculation. The goods surplus fell to 18 billion euros from 34 billion as imports climbed. Over the 12 months to August, the surplus came to 250 billion euros, or 1.5 percent of euro area GDP. A year earlier it stood at 290 billion euros, or 1.8 percent.
Portfolio money flowed into the euro area on balance, on our reading. Non-residents made net purchases of 1,105 billion euros of euro area securities over the 12 months. Residents made net purchases of 798 billion euros of foreign ones. Reserve assets jumped by 106.3 billion euros in August alone, on our calculation. The release puts the gain mainly down to a higher gold price.
Goods imports climb to 240 billion euros
Goods account for 16 billion euros of the 18 billion euro monthly fall, on our calculation. Imports did most of the work, on our reading. They rose to 240 billion euros in August from 229 billion in July. That is a gain of 4.8 percent, on our calculation. Exports slipped 1.5 percent to 259 billion euros, on our calculation.
Outside goods, no component moved by more than 3 billion euros, on our calculation. The primary income deficit widened to 4 billion euros from 1 billion. Services earned a surplus of 13 billion euros. Secondary income stayed in deficit at 18 billion.
The comparison with August 2025 points the same way, on our reading. Monthly goods imports were 14.8 percent higher than a year earlier, on our calculation. Exports were up 10.7 percent, on our calculation. The release gives no breakdown of what the euro area bought.
Euro area current account by component, billion euros
| Component | July 2026 | August 2026 | 12 months to August |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current account | 27 | 9 | 250 |
| Goods | 34 | 18 | 290 |
| Services | 12 | 13 | 153 |
| Primary income | -1 | -4 | 14 |
| Secondary income | -19 | -18 | -207 |
Seasonally and working day adjusted. July includes the revisions published on 20 October. Components may not add to the total because of rounding.
The 12-month surplus slips to 250 billion euros
The 250 billion euro figure is the smallest 12-month surplus first published for any month of 2026, on our reading of the releases for January to August. Its 1.5 percent of GDP is also the lowest ratio among them, on our count. The other seven ranged from 1.6 to 1.8 percent, on our count.
The 12-month surplus is 40 billion euros smaller than a year earlier, on our calculation. The release traces most of that to two items. The goods surplus shrank to 290 billion euros from 320 billion. The secondary income deficit grew to 207 billion euros from 179 billion. Larger surpluses for services and primary income offset part of it, adding 13 billion euros and 5 billion, on our calculation. Together the four items account for the full 40 billion, on our calculation.
Imports are again the thread, on our reading. Over 12 months, goods imports rose 5.4 percent, on our calculation. Goods exports grew more slowly, by 3.8 percent, on our calculation. Services now carry more of the load, on our reading. The services surplus equals 61 percent of the whole current account surplus, against 48 percent a year earlier, on our calculation.
The base itself has moved, on our reading of the two releases. The release of 20 October 2025 put the 12 months to August 2025 at 303 billion euros, or 2.0 percent of GDP. The series now shows 290 billion euros for the same period.
Euro area monthly current account in 2026, billion euros, as first published
| Month | Current account | Goods | 12-month total |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38 | 33 | 261 |
| February | 25 | 25 | 289 |
| March | 15 | 14 | 275 |
| April | 16 | 17 | 269 |
| May | 25 | 16 | 272 |
| June | 35 | 18 | 276 |
| July | 28 | 36 | 282 |
| August | 9 | 18 | 250 |
Figures as printed in each month’s release; later releases revise them. July now stands at 27 billion euros, and goods at 34 billion. August is the smallest monthly surplus of the eight, on our count.
Foreign buyers lean into euro area debt
Non-residents made net purchases of 659 billion euros of euro area debt securities over the 12 months to August. A year earlier the figure was 412 billion euros. That is a 60 percent increase, on our calculation. Their net purchases of euro area equity rose far less, to 446 billion euros from 419 billion, on our calculation.
Residents went the other way, on our reading. Their net purchases of foreign equity fell to 218 billion euros from 296 billion. Their net purchases of foreign debt securities eased to 580 billion euros from 634 billion. For every euro residents put into foreign securities, non-residents put 1.38 euros into euro area ones, on our calculation.
Direct investment ran in the opposite direction, on our reading. Residents’ net direct investment abroad more than doubled, to 424 billion euros from 211 billion, on our calculation. Inward direct investment fell to 89 billion euros from 122 billion. The net outflow through direct investment came to 335 billion euros. The net portfolio inflow of 307 billion euros covered all but 28 billion of it, on our calculation.
Euro area financial account, 12 months to August, billion euros
| Flow | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-residents into euro area debt | 412 | 659 | 247 |
| Non-residents into euro area equity | 419 | 446 | 27 |
| Residents into foreign debt | 634 | 580 | -54 |
| Residents into foreign equity | 296 | 218 | -78 |
| Direct investment abroad | 211 | 424 | 213 |
| Direct investment into the euro area | 122 | 89 | -33 |
Net transactions, not seasonally adjusted. Change is our calculation.
Gold lifts the reserves
Euro area reserve assets rose to 1,858.8 billion euros at the end of August from 1,752.5 billion at the end of July. The gain of 106.3 billion euros equals 6.1 percent, on our calculation. Price changes did the lifting, adding 108.2 billion euros, which the release attributes to a higher price of monetary gold. Net purchases of assets played a lesser part, at 1.1 billion euros. Exchange rate moves took away 3.0 billion.
Gold alone rose to 1,335.6 billion euros from 1,227.5 billion. Its share of total reserves climbed to 71.9 percent from 70.0 percent, on our calculation.
August brought the first monthly rise in reserves since February, on our reading of the releases for February to August. The figures for each month from March to July showed a decrease, on our count. The stock is still 187.0 billion euros below the 2,045.8 billion printed for February, on our calculation.
Euro area reserve assets, billion euros
| Asset | End July | End August | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total reserve assets | 1,752.5 | 1,858.8 | 106.3 |
| Monetary gold | 1,227.5 | 1,335.6 | 108.1 |
| Special drawing rights | 181.4 | 180.5 | -0.9 |
| Reserve position in the IMF | 32.6 | 32.8 | 0.2 |
| Other reserve assets | 311.0 | 310.0 | -1.0 |
Amounts outstanding at the end of the month. Change is our calculation and covers transactions, exchange rate moves and price changes.
Why it matters: The euro area still earns more from the rest of the world than it spends, but the margin is thinner than a year ago. August’s surplus was a third of July’s, on our calculation. Heavier imports drove most of that drop, on our calculation. Services are doing more of the work as the goods surplus shrinks, on our reading. On the money side, the net portfolio inflow covered most of the net outflow through direct investment, on our calculation.
Outlook: September figures are due on 19 November 2026, and they will show whether the August import jump was a one-month spike. Before that, on 28 October, the ECB will publish a second quarterly release with revisions to data back to the first quarter of 2013, without a press release. Data for the third quarter follow on 12 January 2027.
Sources: European Central Bank, The Edge.
