Euro-zone current account surplus since 2010: ECB

FRANKFURT: The euro-zone posted its first trade surplus for almost two years in September, the European Central Bank said on Monday.

The current account balance moved into a surplus of 0.5 billion euros ($0.7 billion) following a deficit of 5.9 billion euros in August, a slight up-wards revision from previous data, the ECB said. The euro-zone last posted a current account surplus in January 2010.

The current account on the balance of payments, which includes imports and exports in goods and services plus all other current transfers, is a closely tracked indicator of a country or area's ability to pay its way in the world.

It is crucial for the long-term confidence of investors and trading partners. The datalP which have historically been subject to large revisions, showed however that the euro-zone's deficit has widened sharply in the past year.

Over the last 12 months, the deficit total amounted to 56.5 billion euros, or 0.6 percent of gross domestic product. This is far bigger than in the previous year, when the accumulated deficit came to 26.2 billion euros.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011