The eurozone's current account improved sharply in January to show a deficit of 0.7 billion euros ($980 million), the European Central bank said Friday. The current account on the balance of payments, which includes imports and exports in both goods and services plus capital transfers, is a closely tracked indicator of a country's or area's ability to pay its way in the world.
It is crucial for the long-term confidence of investors and trading partners. In December, the eurozone showed a deficit of 12.5 billion euros, according to revised data from the ECB, following a deficit of 10.5 billion euros in November. That underscored a lack of competitiveness by the then 16-nation bloc as a whole. The eurozone has now posted a full year's worth of deficits, following the last surplus of 1.6 billion euros in January 2010.