The euro zone seasonally adjusted current account surplus rose to 2.7 bln eur in January from a revised 2.0 bln eur in December, the European Central Bank said. Economists were looking for a January surplus of 2.5 bln eur. This was the fifth consecutive month in which the current account was in surplus, after being in deficit for six of the seven previous months. Over the 12 months to January the current account still posted a deficit of 12.8 bln eur, equivalent to around 0.2 pct of GDP, the ECB said. The December surplus was revised from a provisional estimate of 2.3 bln eur. In January a 4.2 bln eur surplus in goods trade and a 2.0 bln surplus in services was only partly offset by deficits of 2.9 bln eur in current transfers and 0.6 bln in the income account, the ECB said. Current transfers cover transfers between governments and workers' remittances, and 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 6.0 bln eur in deficit in January after a surplus of 4.5 bln in December. The current account data now include Slovenia, which joined the euro zone on Jan 1. Previous data have also been revised to incorporate Slovenia, but its inclusion has had only a minor impact on the overall euro zone results, the ECB said. Meanwhile, in the financial account, there was a combined net inflow of 34.0 bln eur in direct and portfolio investment in January. An inflow of 39.0 bln eur in portfolio investment was partly offset by a 5.0 bln eur outflow in direct investment. The portfolio investment inflow consisted of a 34.4 bln eur inflow in equity investments and 4.6 bln in investments in debt instruments. Over the year to January, the euro zone attracted inflows of 326.5 bln eur in portfolio investment and experienced outflows of 148.0 bln eur in direct investment.