Spain: Current account deficit widens slightly from the previous year in January
The current account balance swung from a revised EUR 3.6 billion surplus in December (previously reported: EUR 2.6 billion surplus) to a EUR 0.4 billion deficit in January, the result of seasonal effects in primary and secondary rent in the two first months of the year. January’s deficit was marginally larger compared with the EUR 0.3 billion deficit recorded in January 2017, but it still represented a positive January result by historical standards.
Moreover, and as a result of sizeable revisions to several previous months’ worth of data, the current account surplus in the 12 months up to January 2018 came in at EUR 22.0 billion, the second-highest reading on record and only a tad below the EUR 22.1 billion surplus recorded in December. The figure was above the EUR 21.9 billion recorded in the 12 months up to January 2017.
According to the Bank of Spain, the slightly larger current account deficit compared with a year ago reflected a balanced trade account, which contrasted the EUR 0.7 billion surplus recorded in January 2017. This, however, was mostly offset by a smaller deficit in primary and secondary income accounts.