Euro area monthly balance of payments: July 2026

• PRESS RELEASE

18 September 2026

• Current account recorded €28 billion surplus in July 2026, down from €35 billion in previous month
• Current account surplus amounted to €282 billion (1.7% of euro area GDP) in the 12 months to July 2026, down from €298 billion (1.9%) one year earlier
• In financial account, euro area residents' net acquisitions of non-euro area portfolio investment securities totalled €815 billion and non-residents' net acquisitions of euro area portfolio investment securities totalled €1,156 billion in the 12 months to July 2026

Chart 1

Euro area current account balance

The current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €28 billion in July 2026, a decrease of €7 billion from the previous month (Chart 1 and Table 1). Surpluses were recorded for goods (€36 billion) and services (€12 billion). These were partly offset by deficits for secondary income (€18 billion) and primary income (€2 billion).

Table 1

Current account of the euro area

Data for the current account of the euro area

In the 12 months to July 2026, the current account recorded a surplus of €282 billion (1.7% of euro area GDP), compared with a surplus of €298 billion (1.9% of euro area GDP) one year earlier. This decrease was mainly driven by a reduction in the surplus for goods (down from €341 billion to €289 billion) and, to a lesser extent, by a larger deficit for secondary income (up from €178 billion to €205 billion). These developments were partly offset by a switch from a deficit (€10 billion) to a surplus (€36 billion) for primary income and a larger surplus for services (up from €145 billion to €163 billion).

Chart 2

Selected items of the euro area financial account

In direct investment, euro area residents made net investments of €357 billion in non-euro area assets in the 12 months to July 2026, up from €179 billion one year earlier (Chart 2 and Table 2). Non-residents invested €59 billion in net terms in euro area assets in the 12 months to July 2026, up from €40 billion one year earlier.

In portfolio investment, euro area residents' net purchases of non-euro area equity decreased to €193 billion in the 12 months to July 2026, down from €255 billion one year earlier. Over the same period, net purchases of non-euro area debt securities by euro-area residents increased to €622 billion, up from €608 billion one year earlier. Non-residents' net purchases of euro area equity increased to €525 billion in the 12 months to July 2026, up from €439 billion one year earlier. Over the same period, non-residents made net purchases of euro area debt securities amounting to €631 billion, up from €378 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 €786 billion in the 12 months to July 2026 (up from €520 billion one year earlier), while their net incurrence of liabilities increased to €537 billion (up from €338 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 €263 billion in the 12 months to July 2026. This increase was driven by the current and capital accounts surplus and euro area non-MFIs' net inflows in portfolio investment equity, portfolio investment debt and other investment. These developments were partly offset by euro area non-MFIs' net outflows in direct investment and other flows.

In July 2026, the Eurosystem's stock of reserve assets decreased to €1,752.5 billion, down from €1,755.4 billion in the previous month (Table 3). This decrease was driven by negative price changes (€1.9 billion) and negative exchange rate changes (€1.7 billion), which were partly offset by net acquisitions of assets (€0.7 billion).

Table 3

Reserve assets of the euro area

Data for the reserve assets of the euro area

Data revisions

This press release does not incorporate revisions to previous periods.

Next releases:

• Quarterly balance of payments: 2 October 2026 (reference data up to the second quarter of 2026)
• Monthly balance of payments: 20 October 2026 (reference data up to August 2026)

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.

CONTACT

European Central Bank

18 September 2026