EU current account surplus narrows to €80.2bn in the second quarter, 1.6% of GDP

Victoria Shinder05 October 2026, 07:242 min read

The European Union's seasonally adjusted current account surplus fell to €80.2 billion, or 1.6% of GDP, in the second quarter of 2026, according to estimates Eurostat published on 2 October. It was €98.0 billion (2.0% of GDP) in the first quarter and €91.7 billion (2.0% of GDP) a year earlier.

Where the change came from. Compared with the first quarter, on seasonally adjusted data:

• the goods surplus was almost unchanged at €62.9 billion, from €63.6 billion;
• the services surplus fell to €41.7 billion from €48.1 billion;
• the primary income surplus, which covers investment income and wages, shrank to €0.8 billion from €15.7 billion;
• the secondary income deficit narrowed to €25.2 billion from €29.3 billion. The capital account deficit widened to €16.2 billion from €1.7 billion.

By partner, on non-seasonally adjusted data, the EU's largest surpluses were with the United Kingdom (€89.8 billion), Switzerland (€23.9 billion), Canada (€12.9 billion) and Brazil (€10.3 billion). It ran deficits with China (€66.6 billion) and the United States (€30.3 billion).

Investment flows. EU direct investment assets rose by €120.5 billion and liabilities by €1.4 billion, making the EU a net direct investor abroad of €119.1 billion. Portfolio investment recorded a net inflow of €200.7 billion and other investment a net outflow of €104.8 billion.

Member states. Including intra-EU flows, eleven member states had surpluses and sixteen deficits. The largest surpluses were Germany (€45.0 billion), Ireland (€19.7 billion) and the Netherlands (€16.9 billion); the largest deficits Romania (€7.8 billion), France (€6.5 billion) and Poland (€6.2 billion).

Caveat. The figures are provisional, based on data supplied 82 to 85 days after the quarter, and may be revised.

What it means

The headline fall came almost entirely from income and services rather than goods: the trade surplus held steady while investment income nearly disappeared. The bilateral picture is the one the next round of trade talks will be argued over, with large surpluses towards the UK and Switzerland and deficits towards China and the United States.