The euro zone's balance of payments fell back into the red in April, posting a deficit of 5.1 billion, the European Central Bank said today. In March, the balance of payments, an overall measure of all current payments into and out of a country or region, posted a surplus of €1.5 billion, revised data from the ECB showed. The figures are often revised sharply higher or lower, and the March figure was initially reported as a surplus of 1.7 billion. On the financial account, the ECB reported net inflows of 18.5 billion in April, as more money was ploughed into euro zone assets than was invested abroad by euro zone companies and institutions. The balance of payments, which includes payments for imports and exports of trade in goods and services, is a closely watched indicator of an area's ability to pay its way in the world.
It is important for the long-term confidence of investors and trading partners. The overall figure for the euro zone combines surpluses from strong exporting nations such as Germany with the balances of countries that have structural external deficits. On a 12-month cumulative basis, the euro zone's current account showed a provisional deficit of 32.3 billion, or around 0.4% of the 16-nation bloc's GDP.