By Tuba Sahin
ANKARA (AA) – Current account surplus of the EU decreased markedly in the first quarter of this year, according to the bloc's statistical office on Tuesday.
The 27-member bloc's current account balance posted a surplus of €16.6 billion (around $17.1 billion) or 0.4% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in January-March, Eurostat said in a statement.
The figure was down from a surplus of €52.2 billion (1.4% of GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2021 and down from a surplus of €126.4 billion (3.6% of GDP) in the first quarter of last year.
The goods account turned to a deficit of €15.4 billion from a surplus of €9.9 billion in the previous quarter while the surplus of the services accounts decreased to €46.6 billion compared to €54.2 billion.
The EU registered external current account surpluses with the UK (€40 billion), the US (€27.1 billion), and Switzerland (€22.2 billion), while deficits were posted with China (€54.5 billion), Russia (€34 billion), Japan (€1.2 billion) and India (€1.2 billion).