Euro zone current account surplus widens in Oct

FRANKFURT: The adjusted current account surplus of the 19 countries sharing the euro widened to 23 billion euros in October from 18 billion euros in September, as the trade surplus increased, the European Central Bank said on Thursday.

In the 12 months to October, the surplus was 3.0 percent of the bloc's gross domestic product, down from 3.1 percent in the preceding 12-month period, with the trade surplus accounting for the vast majority of the figure.

The surplus, often criticised by the U.S. administration as excessive, is expected to narrow to 2.7 percent of GDP next year, then slowly dip to 2.5 percent by 2021, according to ECB projections.