Euro area monthly balance of payments: August 2026

• PRESS RELEASE

20 October 2026

• Current account recorded €9 billion surplus in August 2026, down from €27 billion in previous month
• Current account surplus amounted to €250 billion (1.5% of euro area GDP) in the 12 months to August 2026, down from €290 billion (1.8%) one year earlier
• In financial account, euro area residents' net acquisitions of non-euro area portfolio investment securities totalled €798 billion and non-residents' net acquisitions of euro area portfolio investment securities totalled €1,105 billion in the 12 months to August 2026

Chart 1

Euro area current account balance

The current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €9 billion in August 2026, a decrease of €18 billion from the previous month (Chart 1 and Table 1). Surpluses were recorded for goods (€18 billion) and services (€13 billion). These were partly offset by deficits for secondary income (€18 billion) and primary income (€4 billion).

Table 1

Current account of the euro area

Data for the current account of the euro area

In the 12 months to August 2026, the current account recorded a surplus of €250 billion (1.5% of euro area GDP), compared with a surplus of €290 billion (1.8% of euro area GDP) one year earlier. This decrease was mainly driven by a reduction in the surplus for goods (down from €320 billion to €290 billion) and, to a lesser extent, by a larger deficit for secondary income (up from €179 billion to €207 billion). These developments were partly offset by larger surpluses for services (up from €140 billion to €153 billion) and primary income (up from €9 billion to €14 billion).

Chart 2

Selected items of the euro area financial account

In direct investment, euro area residents made net investments of €424 billion in non-euro area assets in the 12 months to August 2026, up from €211 billion one year earlier (Chart 2 and Table 2). Non-residents invested €89 billion in net terms in euro area assets in the 12 months to August 2026, down from €122 billion one year earlier.

In portfolio investment, euro area residents' net purchases of non-euro area equity decreased to €218 billion in the 12 months to August 2026, down from €296 billion one year earlier. Over the same period, net purchases of non-euro area debtsecurities by euro-area residents decreased to €580 billion, down from €634 billion one year earlier. Non-residents' net purchases of euro area equity increased to €446 billion in the 12 months to August 2026, up from €419 billion one year earlier. Over the same period, non-residents made net purchases of euro area debtsecurities amounting to €659 billion, up from €412 billion one year earlier.

Table 2

Financial account of the euro area

Data for the financial account of the euro area

In other investment, euro area residents recorded net acquisitions of non-euro area assets amounting to €804 billion in the 12 months to August 2026 (up from €584 billion one year earlier), while their net incurrence of liabilities increased to €565 billion (up from €449 billion one year earlier).

Chart 3

Monetary presentation of the balance of payments

The monetary presentation of the balance of payments (Chart 3) shows that the net external assets (enhanced) of euro area MFIs increased by €260 billion in the 12 months to August 2026. This increase was mainly driven by the current and capital accounts surplus and, to a lesser extent, by euro area non-MFIs' net inflows in portfolio investmentequity, other investment and portfolio investmentdebt. These developments were partly offset by euro area non-MFIs' net outflows in direct investment.

In August 2026, the Eurosystem's stock of reserve assets increased to €1,858.8 billion, up from €1,752.5 billion in the previous month (Table 3). This increase was mainly driven by positive price changes (€108.2 billion), explained by an increase in the price of monetary gold, and, to a lesser extent, by net acquisitions of assets (€1.1 billion), which were partly offset by negative exchange rate changes (€3.0 billion).

Table 3

Reserve assets of the euro area

Data for the reserve assets of the euro area

Data revisions

This press release incorporates revisions to the data for July 2026. These revisions did not significantly alter the figures previously published.

Next releases:

• Monthly balance of payments: 19 November 2026 (reference data up to September 2026)
• Quarterly balance of payments: 12 January 2027 (reference data up to the third quarter of 2026)[1]

For media queries, please contact Benoit Deeg, tel.: +49 172 1683704.

Notes

• Current account data are always seasonally and working day-adjusted, unless otherwise indicated, whereas capital and financial account data are neither seasonally nor working day-adjusted.
• Hyperlinks in this press release lead to data that may change with subsequent releases as a result of revisions.

1. On 28 October 2026 there will be a second release of the quarterly balance of payments and international investment position data (reference data up to the second quarter of 2026) with revisions to data for periods since the first quarter of 2013. This second release will not include a press or statistical release and is aimed at preserving consistency between the euro area balance of payments and the euro area sector accounts by taking into account revised source data.

CONTACT

European Central Bank

Directorate General Communications

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• 60314 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
• +49 69 1344 7455
• [email protected]

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Media contacts 20 October 2026 Tables