STAT/13/13

24 January 2013

Second estimate for the thirdquarter of 2012
EU27 current account surplus28.8bneuro
39.3 bn euro surplus for trade in services

The EU271external current account2recorded a surplusof 28.8billion euro in the thirdquarter of 20123, compared with a deficit of 6.8 bn in the thirdquarter of 2011,according to a second estimatereleased by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In the thirdquarter of 2012, compared withthe thirdquarter of 2011, thedeficit of the goods accountdecreasedsignificantly (-2.6bn euro compared with -34.6bn)and thesurplus of the services accountrose(+39.3bn compared with+31.1bn).The surplusof the incomeaccountfell(+10.5bn compared with +14.6bn)andthedeficit of the current transfers accountincreased(-18.3bn compared with -17.9bn).

The surplus recorded in the services account (+39.3bn euro) was mainly the resultof surplusesin"other business services", which includes miscellaneous business, professional and technical services (+15.3bn), transportation (+7.6bn), financial services (+7.4bn), computer & information services (+6.2bn),insurance services (+3.8bn)and construction services (+2.7 bn), partlyoffsetby a deficitinroyalties & license fees (-2.0bn).

In the thirdquarter of 2012, the EU27external current account recorded a surplus withthe USA (+34.1bneuro), Switzerland(+15.1bn), Hong Kong (+7.8bn),Brazil (+7.4bn), Canada(+5.0bn)and India(+1.4bn),anda deficit with China (-30.1bn),Russia(-6.7bn)and Japan(-5.4bn).

EU/euro area current account balance as %of GDP

Balance of payments euro-indicators for the EU27 and the euro area (EA17)(in bn euro)

Q3/2011

Q4/2011

Q1/2012

Q2/2012

Q3/2012

EU27 current account balance

-6.8

24.7

1.0

-2.3

28.8

EU27 balance of trade in goods

-34.6

-15.6

-32.6

-11.1

-2.6

EU27 balance of trade in services

31.1

35.7

30.6

38.2

39.3

EU27 current account balance as % of GDP

-0.2%

0.8%

0.0%

-0.1%

0.9%

EA17 current account balance

6.5

36.6

-4.6

14.9

41.0

EA17 balance of trade in goods

3.6

15.8

6.3

25.2

30.5

EA17 balance of trade in services

21.0

18.7

15.3

25.4

26.8

EA17 current account balance as % of GDP

0.3%

1.5%

-0.2%

0.6%

1.7%

Source: Eurostat for EU27 data, ECB4for euro area

Financial Account

In the thirdquarter of2012, the EU27made direct investments abroad of 55.3bn euro, compared with40.5bn in the same quarter of 2011, while foreign direct investors made investments in the EU27of 35.4bn, compared with 34.3bn in the same quarter of 2011. Portfolio investments recorded a net outflow of 126.0bn, compared with a net inflow of 105.0bn in the thirdquarter of 2011.

Current account of Member States (including intra-EU flows)

As concerns the total (intra-EU plus extra-EU) current account balances of the EU27 Member States5, seventeenrecorded surpluses,ninedeficitsand one was in balance in the thirdquarter of 2012. The highest surpluses were observed in Germany(+41.5bn euro), the Netherlands(+12.6bn),Sweden(+7.8bn)and Denmark(+4.0bn), and the largest deficits inthe United Kingdom(-20.2bn), France(-8.0bn),Poland(-3.4bn) andBelgium
(-2.8bn).

Thesedataare not seasonally adjusted and are subject to revision.

  1. 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) includesBelgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

  1. The balance of payments is based on a double entry system, therefore the sum of the balances of the current account, the capital account and the financial account is in principle equal to zero, any discrepancy being due to statistical errors.

The current accountcovers all transactions occurring between resident and non-resident entities, and refers to international trade in goods and services, income and current transfers.

The capital accountcomprises capital transfers, which involve the transfer of ownership of fixed assets, and the acquisition and disposal of nonproduced, nonfinancial assets, which include tangible assets that are not produced (such as subsoil assets) as well as intangible assets (patents, copyrights, trademarks, etc).

The financial accountrecords transactions that involve financial assets and liabilities, and take place between residents and non residentsand is further subdivided into direct investment, portfolio investment, other investment, financial derivatives and reserve assets (for which the EU aggregate is not compiled, as the European Union is not a monetary union).The net decrease in external assets (disinvestment abroad) or net increase in external liabilities (investment in the reporting economy) is shown with a plus sign. The net increase in external assets (investment abroad) or net decrease in external liabilities (disinvestment in the reporting economy) is shown with a minus sign.

Further details of the statistical concepts and definitions used can be found on the Eurostat website at:

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_SDDS/en/bop_q_esms.htm

  1. Compared with the first estimate forthethirdquarter of2012, published in News Release 175/2012 of 7 December 2012, thebalance of the EU27 current account has been revised from +28.4bn euroto +28.8 bn. That first estimate was based on figures provided by the Member States to Eurostat two months after the reference quarter, and was provisional.

This second release is based on more detailed quarterly data, transmitted to Eurostat by the Member States three months after the reference quarter. These data may also be subject to revision when data for later quarters are transmitted by the Member States.

  1. 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.

  2. All the figures, including data for individual Member States, can be downloaded free of charge from the balance of payments section of the Eurostat web site http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat. Sums of components and data of different periodicity may not add up due to rounding. Please note that data for the individual Member States include all transactions with other countries (both intra-EU and extra-EU), while data published for the EU and euro area include only extra-EU and extra-euro area transactions respectively.

Issued by: Eurostat Press Office

Tim ALLEN

Tel: +352-4301-33 444

eurostat-pressoffice@ec.europa.eu

For further information on data:

Olaf NOWAK

Tel: +352-4301-38 590

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

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

EU27current and capital account(in bn euro)

Q3/2011

Q4/2011

Q1/2012

Q2/2012

Q3/2012

Credit

Debit

Net

Credit

Debit

Net

Credit

Debit

Net

Credit

Debit

Net

Credit

Debit

Net

CURRENT ACCOUNT

692.2

698.9

-6.8

727.5

702.8

24.7

701.7

700.7

1.0

746.2

748.5

-2.3

751.1

722.3

28.8

- Goods

390.6

425.2

-34.6

412.2

427.8

-15.6

408.7

441.3

-32.6

427.4

438.5

-11.1

433.2

435.9

-2.6

- Services

158.4

127.3

31.1

161.6

125.8

35.7

146.9

116.3

30.6

162.5

124.3

38.2

172.5

133.3

39.3

- Income

131.5

116.9

14.6

142.0

114.6

27.4

134.1

112.8

21.4

140.4

155.5

-15.1

133.3

122.9

10.5

- Current Transfers

11.6

29.5

-17.9

11.8

34.6

-22.8

11.9

30.4

-18.4

15.9

30.2

-14.4

12.1

30.4

-18.3

CAPITAL ACCOUNT

2.1

3.8

-1.7

3.5

5.7

-2.3

2.4

3.6

-1.2

2.3

4.9

-2.6

2.7

3.8

-1.1

Source: Eurostat

EU27 services account (in bn euro)

Q3/2011

Q4/2011

Q1/2012

Q2/2012

Q3/2012

Credit

Debit

Net

Credit

Debit

Net

Credit

Debit

Net

Credit

Debit

Net

Credit

Debit

Net

Services

158.4

127.3

31.1

161.6

125.8

35.7

146.9

116.3

30.6

162.5

124.3

38.2

172.5

133.3

39.3

Transportation

35.0

29.0

5.9

34.5

28.4

6.1

33.0

28.4

4.6

37.2

29.9

7.3

38.6

31.0

7.6

Travel

29.0

30.3

-1.3

19.8

20.8

-1.0

17.6

18.2

-0.6

25.2

22.6

2.6

32.0

31.2

0.8

Other services

94.4

64.1

30.3

107.1

73.1

34.1

96.2

65.2

31.0

100.0

67.7

32.3

101.9

66.9

34.9

  • Communication services

4.0

3.6

0.4

4.8

4.4

0.4

4.6

3.9

0.7

4.3

3.7

0.6

4.8

4.1

0.7

  • Construction services

4.7

2.0

2.7

5.5

2.2

3.3

4.1

1.7

2.3

4.5

2.0

2.5

4.9

2.1

2.7

  • Insurance services

5.0

2.6

2.4

4.4

2.7

1.8

5.5

2.4

3.1

5.7

2.8

3.0

6.4

2.6

3.8

  • Financial services

13.0

5.4

7.6

13.4

5.3

8.1

12.2

5.4

6.9

11.2

5.3

6.0

12.9

5.5

7.4

  • Computer & info. services

9.3

3.5

5.8

12.6

4.1

8.5

10.3

4.6

5.7

11.0

4.2

6.9

10.4

4.2

6.2

  • Royalties & licence fees

9.3

11.5

-2.3

10.5

11.7

-1.2

9.4

10.4

-1.0

9.1

11.3

-2.2

8.8

10.8

-2.0

  • Other business services

45.7

32.5

13.2

51.9

39.2

12.7

46.7

33.7

12.9

50.9

35.5

15.4

50.2

34.8

15.3

  • Personal, cultural & rec. services

1.5

1.5

-0.1

2.2

1.6

0.7

1.5

1.5

0.1

1.6

1.4

0.2

1.7

1.5

0.1

  • Government services, n.i.e.

1.8

1.3

0.5

1.8

1.9

-0.1

1.9

1.6

0.3

1.7

1.6

0.1

2.0

1.3

0.6

Services not allocated

0.1

3.9

-3.8

0.1

3.6

-3.5

0.1

4.5

-4.4

0.1

4.1

-4.0

0.1

4.2

-4.1

Source: Eurostat

EU27 financial account(in bn euro)

Q3/2011

Q4/2011

Q1/2012

Q2/2012

Q3/2012

DIRECT INVESTMENT

-6.2

-22.0

3.0

-9.0

-19.9

- direct investment abroad

-40.5

-98.2

-62.5

-60.4

-55.3

- direct investment in the EU

34.3

76.3

65.5

51.4

35.4

PORTFOLIO INVESTMENT

105.0

-8.1

-122.4

144.2

-126.0

- portfolio investment assets

97.3

4.3

-160.6

42.3

-154.0

- portfolio investment liabilities

7.7

-12.4

38.2

101.9

27.9

OTHER INVESTMENT

-46.8

28.3

11.2

-6.5

98.7

- other investment assets

-180.1

-60.1

-48.2

191.3

30.3

- other investment liabilities

133.3

88.4

59.4

-197.8

68.4

FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES

-33.8

-21.4

34.3

13.5

-9.5

Source: Eurostat

EU27geographical breakdown of selected balance of payments items (in bn euro)

Partner

Period

TotalCurrent Account

Goods

Services

Direct investmentabroad

Direct investment in the EU

Credit

Debit

Net

Credit

Debit

Net

Credit

Debit

Net

Net

Net

Total

Q3/2011

692.2

698.9

-6.8

390.6

425.2

-34.6

158.4

127.3

31.1

-40.5

34.3

Q4/2011

727.5

702.8

24.7

412.2

427.8

-15.6

161.6

125.8

35.7

-98.2

76.3

Q1/2012

701.7

700.7

1.0

408.7

441.3

-32.6

146.9

116.3

30.6

-62.5

65.5

Q2/2012

746.2

748.5

-2.3

427.4

438.5

-11.1

162.5

124.3

38.2

-60.4

51.4

Q3/2012

751.1

722.3

28.8

433.2

435.9

-2.6

172.5

133.3

39.3

-55.3

35.4

USA

Q3/2011

141.0

123.8

17.2

65.9

44.5

21.4

38.0

35.7

2.3

-9.2

33.6

Q4/2011

153.9

127.7

26.2

72.0

48.6

23.4

37.8

37.0

0.8

-54.1

48.2

Q1/2012

149.4

125.6

23.8

73.8

51.6

22.2

35.6

34.4

1.2

1.9

34.3

Q2/2012

158.5

139.3

19.2

76.7

52.5

24.2

40.9

36.6

4.3

-7.1

11.8

Q3/2012

162.5

128.5

34.1

78.4

50.3

28.1

41.3

36.2

5.1

-14.8

44.4

Switzerland

Q3/2011

70.3

53.5

16.8

34.9

29.4

5.5

21.4

14.4

7.0

-5.4

4.5

Q4/2011

72.4

54.2

18.2

36.3

29.3

7.0

20.0

14.0

6.1

7.5

11.3

Q1/2012

72.2

56.0

16.3

37.0

29.0

8.0

18.9

14.3

4.6

-2.9

3.3

Q2/2012

77.5

58.8

18.7

36.6

30.4

6.2

21.2

14.0

7.2

-6.2

5.3

Q3/2012

72.8

57.7

15.1

36.7

30.9

5.8

21.1

15.1

6.0

8.0

-6.1

China*

Q3/2011

46.1

80.5

-34.4

34.0

74.4

-40.3

6.8

4.6

2.2

-5.0

0.1

Q4/2011

49.3

77.7

-28.5

37.2

70.9

-33.7

7.3

5.0

2.3

-3.3

3.4

Q1/2012

46.4

72.2

-25.8

36.1

66.2

-30.1

6.2

4.6

1.6

-6.5

1.8

Q2/2012

49.2

74.2

-25.0

37.3

67.4

-30.1

7.2

5.1

2.1

-1.4

-0.2

Q3/2012

48.9

79.0

-30.1

36.0

72.4

-36.4

8.1

5.0

3.1

-2.2

0.4

Russia

Q3/2011

40.5

51.3

-10.8

29.1

46.2

-17.0

7.2

3.7

3.5

-3.7

-2.3

Q4/2011

39.3

54.2

-14.9

29.1

49.5

-20.4

6.3

3.4

2.8

-0.5

1.6

Q1/2012

37.8

58.1

-20.3

28.4

53.0

-24.7

5.9

3.4

2.5

-5.5

3.2

Q2/2012

41.8

56.8

-15.0

31.0

50.5

-19.5

7.1

3.7

3.4

-5.4

2.0

Q3/2012

46.7

53.5

-6.7

32.7

47.7

-15.0

8.2

4.0

4.2

-0.6

1.7

Japan

Q3/2011

22.1

29.4

-7.3

12.7

16.9

-4.2

5.9

3.7

2.2

-2.3

6.9

Q4/2011

23.5

30.3

-6.8

13.5

17.3

-3.9

5.1

4.3

0.7

0.1

0.5

Q1/2012

22.9

28.7

-5.8

13.5

16.9

-3.4

5.8

3.7

2.1

-1.0

-0.6

Q2/2012

26.9

31.0

-4.1

13.6

16.7

-3.1

6.0

4.0

2.0

-1.0

2.4

Q3/2012

23.4

28.8

-5.4

14.4

15.8

-1.4

5.8

4.0

1.8

1.3

0.6

* excluding Hong Kong

Partner

Period

Total Current Account

Goods

Services

Direct investment abroad

Direct investment in the EU

Credit

Debit

Net

Credit

Debit

Net

Credit

Debit

Net

Net

Net

Canada

Q3/2011

17.4

11.5

5.9

7.4

5.8

1.6

4.3

2.8

1.4

-4.8

1.9

Q4/2011

16.9

12.2

4.7

7.4

6.6

0.8

4.0

2.7

1.3

-13.3

-2.0

Q1/2012

15.6

10.8

4.8

7.6

5.8

1.8

3.9

2.2

1.6

-5.5

2.2

Q2/2012

14.5

12.3

2.2

8.0

5.8

2.2

4.2

2.7

1.5

0.2

-1.0

Q3/2012

16.6

11.6

5.0

8.3

5.7

2.6

4.6

3.0

1.6

-2.1

10.7

Hong Kong

Q3/2011

14.0

8.5

5.5

7.9

4.8

3.2

2.5

2.0

0.5

-5.0

1.4

Q4/2011

13.9

8.7

5.2

7.9

4.8

3.1

2.5

2.1

0.3

-0.9

2.7

Q1/2012

15.6

7.7

7.9

8.2

4.1

4.1

2.4

2.0

0.4

-1.7

0.4

Q2/2012

16.4

8.4

8.0

8.4

4.3

4.1

2.7

2.0

0.7

-2.9

3.0

Q3/2012

16.5

8.7

7.8

8.6

4.9

3.7

2.8

2.0

0.7

-1.7

1.0

India

Q3/2011

14.2

13.6

0.7

9.7

9.4

0.3

2.8

3.1

-0.3

-5.7

0.7

Q4/2011

15.1

12.9

2.2

10.7

9.1

1.5

2.9

2.8

0.1

-1.9

-0.1

Q1/2012

14.5

13.3

1.3

10.2

9.5

0.7

2.7

2.7

0.0

-1.6

-0.7

Q2/2012

13.8

12.1

1.8

9.4

8.5

0.8

2.9

2.7

0.2

-2.2

0.0

Q3/2012

14.1

12.8

1.4

9.4

8.9

0.5

2.9

2.9

0.0

-2.1

-0.1

Brazil

Q3/2011

17.6

13.0

4.6

9.5

10.1

-0.6

3.0

1.9

1.1

-4.0

0.0

Q4/2011

18.7

11.4

7.4

9.5

8.4

1.1

3.1

1.8

1.3

-6.7

0.0

Q1/2012

19.0

11.5

7.5

9.6

8.7

0.9

3.0

1.8

1.2

-4.8

-4.5

Q2/2012

19.4

12.0

7.4

9.9

9.3

0.6

3.2

1.7

1.5

-4.0

-0.2

Q3/2012

19.0

11.6

7.4

10.2

8.9

1.3

3.3

1.8

1.5

-4.1

1.5

Other countries

Q3/2011

308.9

313.8

-4.9

179.4

183.8

-4.4

66.6

55.4

11.2

4.6

-12.5

Q4/2011

324.4

313.4

11.0

188.7

183.1

5.5

72.6

52.6

19.9

-25.0

10.7

Q1/2012

308.3

316.8

-8.5

184.3

196.5

-12.2

62.6

47.2

15.4

-34.9

25.9

Q2/2012

328.3

343.7

-15.5

196.4

193.0

3.5

67.1

51.7

15.4

-30.4

28.3

Q3/2012

330.6

330.3

0.3

198.6

190.4

8.3

74.4

59.3

15.1

-36.8

-18.6

Source: Eurostat

Current account balance andbalance of trade in services - national data(intra-EU + Extra-EU)(bn euro)

Net current account

Net services

Q3/2011

Q4/2011

Q1/2012

Q2/2012

Q3/2012

Q3/2011

Q4/2011

Q1/2012

Q2/2012

Q3/2012

Belgium

-4.8

-1.8

-2.7

3.2

-2.8

-0.7

1.1

1.6

1.5

-0.6

Bulgaria

1.0

-0.8

-0.6

-0.3

1.0

1.5

0.2

0.1

0.6

1.5

Czech Republic

-2.4

-0.7

0.9

-0.8

-2.0

0.8

0.5

0.6

0.5

0.5

Denmark

3.9

3.5

1.6

5.0

4.0

1.6

1.5

0.7

1.6

1.9

Germany

33.4

46.9

41.1

37.6

41.5

-10.7

-3.2

-4.2

-4.3

-11.5

Estonia

0.3

0.1

-0.1

-0.1

0.0

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.4

0.4

Ireland

1.5

1.7

-1.0

3.2

3.0

0.1

-0.4

0.1

1.3

1.6

Greece

-2.0

-5.9

-4.6

-1.9

3.0

7.5

2.6

1.5

3.5

7.6

Spain

-5.7

-7.2

-15.0

-2.7

1.9

13.1

7.4

5.3

10.0

15.2

France

-8.0

-8.0

-9.7

-17.6

-8.0

9.7

4.8

5.2

8.3

9.7

Italy

-8.8

-5.3

-13.1

-0.7

1.0

-0.2

-2.5

-2.7

1.1

2.4

Cyprus

-0.1

0.0

-0.6

-0.2

-0.2

1.0

1.1

0.6

0.9

1.1

Latvia

-0.3

-0.1

-0.1

-0.1

-0.1

0.3

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.4

Lithuania

-0.1

-0.4

-0.7

0.4

-0.1

0.3

0.2

0.2

0.5

0.4

Luxembourg

0.8

0.6

0.8

0.6

0.5

4.9

5.4

5.8

6.0

5.4

Hungary

0.3

0.0

0.0

0.5

0.8

1.0

0.7

0.6

0.9

1.1

Malta

0.3

0.0

-0.1

0.0

0.1

0.5

0.3

0.3

0.4

0.5

Netherlands

13.5

16.9

17.2

11.4

12.6

0.7

3.6

2.4

2.0

-0.5

Austria

-1.0

1.0

2.8

0.6

0.9

2.2

3.6

6.0

2.2

2.6

Poland

-5.1

-5.2

-4.5

-2.2

-3.4

1.0

0.7

1.1

1.5

1.2

Portugal

-1.5

-2.0

-1.8

-1.2

0.9

3.0

1.9

1.4

2.0

3.3

Romania

-1.4

-1.2

-0.5

-1.9

-1.6

0.0

0.3

0.0

0.1

0.2

Slovenia

-0.1

0.0

0.0

0.3

0.2

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.5

0.4

Slovakia

-0.6

-0.2

0.4

0.5

0.3

-0.1

0.0

0.1

0.1

0.1

Finland

0.6

-1.3

-1.5

-1.7

0.3

0.4

0.2

-0.5

-0.7

0.1

Sweden

7.9

5.5

7.9

6.9

7.8

3.9

3.7

3.5

4.3

4.2

United Kingdom

-13.0

-4.2

-15.0

-21.0

-20.2

19.1

21.9

20.3

19.2

18.4

Iceland

0.1

-0.3

-0.3

-0.3

0.2

0.2

0.0

0.0

0.1

0.2

Croatia

2.5

-0.9

-1.6

-0.3

2.6

4.2

0.5

0.1

1.5

4.3

Turkey

-11.2

-12.3

-12.6

-11.3

-6.5

6.3

2.7

1.5

3.9

7.7

Source: Eurostat



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