Forex Pros – The euro zone current account deficit widened more-than-expected in April, official data showed on Monday.
In a report, the European Central Bank said that the euro zone current account recorded a seasonally adjusted deficit of EUR5.1 billion in April, after recording a deficit of EUR3.0 billion in March, whose figure was revised from a deficit of EUR4.7 billion.
Economists had expected the current account deficit to widen to EUR4.8 billion.
The report said that the 12-month cumulated seasonally adjusted current account recorded a deficit of EUR52.3 billion in April, approximately 0.6% of euro area gross domestic product, compared with a deficit of EUR12.4 billion a year earlier.
Following the release of the data, the euro was down against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD shedding 0.72% to trade at 1.4209.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.65%, France’s CAC 40 fell 1.7%, Germany’s DAX sank 1.3%, while the FTSE 100 retreated 1%.
ForexPros.com
