According to the latest revisions, the EU27 external current account recorded a deficit of 34.8 billion euro in the first quarter of 2010, compared with a deficit of 50.6 bn in the first quarter of 2009 and a deficit of 13.4 bn in the fourth quarter of 2009.

In the first quarter of 2010, compared with the first quarter of 2009, the deficit of the goods account decreased (-31.8 bn euro compared with -43.9 bn) and the deficit of the income account turned to surplus (+2.4 bn compared with -4.9 bn). The surplus of the services account fell (+10.8 bn compared with +13.3 bn) and the deficit of the current transfers account increased (-16.2 bn compared with -15.0 bn).

The surplus recorded in the services account (+10.8 bn euro) is mainly the result of surpluses in "other business services", which includes miscellaneous business, professional and technical services (+6.8 bn), financial services (+6.5 bn), computer & information services (+4.1 bn) and transportation (+3.9 bn), partially offset by deficits in travel (-5.8 bn) and royalties & license fees (-4.1 bn).

In the first quarter of 2010, the EU27 external current account recorded a surplus with the USA (+14.1 bn euro), Switzerland (+4.4 bn), Hong Kong (+4.1 bn), Brazil (+3.0 bn), Canada (+2.2 bn) and India (+0.9 bn) and a deficit with China (-30.9 bn), Russia (-13.5 bn) and Japan (-7.0 bn).

Financial Account

In the first quarter of 2010, the EU27 made direct investments abroad of 28.9 bn euro, compared with 65.1 bn in the same quarter of 2009, while foreign direct investors made investments in the EU27 of 26.8 bn, compared with 35.9 bn in the same quarter of 2009. Portfolio investments recorded a net inflow of 93.6 bn, compared with 220.4 bn in the first quarter of 2009.

These provisional data, issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, are based on the information available at the time of publication and subject to revision.