Forexpros – The euro zone’s current account surplus widened unexpectedly in May, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the European Central Bank said that the euro zone current account recorded a seasonally adjusted surplus of EUR10.9 billion in May, up from a surplus of EUR5.5 billion in April, whose figure was revised up from a surplus of EUR4.6 billion.
Economists had expected the region’s current account surplus to narrow modestly to EUR5.3 billion in May.
The report said that the 12-month cumulated seasonally adjusted current account recorded a surplus of EUR36.3 billion in May, around 0.4% of euro area gross domestic product, compared with a deficit of EUR17.0 billion a year earlier.
This shift resulted from increases in the surpluses for goods, services and income, which were partially counterbalanced by an increase in the deficit for current transfers.
Following the release of the data, the euro held on to gains against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD adding 0.09% to trade at 1.2295.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were higher after the open. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.4%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.4%, Germany’s DAX climbed 0.55%, while London’s FTSE 100 eased up 0.15%.
Forexpros
