The euro zone seasonally adjusted current account deficit rose to 6.6 bln eur in August from 4.7 bln eur in July, the European Central Bank said. Economists polled by AFX News were looking for a current account deficit of 4.0 bln eur in August. The ECB said a deficit of 5.6 bln eur on current transfers and an income account deficit of 4.5 bln eur more than offset surpluses of 2.6 bln eur in services and 1.0 bln eur in goods trade. Current transfers cover transfers between governments and workers' remittances. The income account covers investment income flows and wages paid to workers by employers based in a different economy. In unadjusted terms the current account was 2.9 bln eur in deficit in August with a surplus of 1.3 bln eur in July. The ECB said the euro zone had a total current account surplus in the 12 months to August of 5.2 bln eur, equivalent to less than 0.1 pct of GDP. Meanwhile, in the financial accоunt, there was a combined net outflow of 31.8 bln eur in direct and portfolio investment in August compared with an outflow of 5.8 bln in July. Net direct investment outflows declined to 15.7 bln eur from 81.2 bln the month before. But there was a marked shift in portfolio investment, which showed an outflow of 16.1 bln eur in August after an inflow of 75.3 bln the month before. This reflected a sharp decline in equity investment inflows, which declined to 20.2 bln eur from 90.3 bln. Over the year to August net inflows in direct and portfolio investment totalled 73.0 bln eur, compared with 29.4 bln in the previous 12-month period.