The eurozone's current deficit, a closely watched indicator on the financial markets, narrowed in November, the European Central Bank said on Thursday.
The eurozone's current deficit, a closely watched indicator on the financial markets, narrowed in November, the European Central Bank said on Thursday.
The current account showed a deficit of 1.8 billion euros ($3.2 billion) in November, compared with a deficit of 6.6 billion euros in October.
The ECB revised its figure for October from an original estimate of 7.5 billion euros.
The current account on the balance of payments includes imports and exports in both goods and services plus all other current transfers, or placement of assets outside the zone.
It is a closely tracked indicator of a country or area's ability to pay its way in the world and is crucial for the long-term confidence of investors and trading partners.
The current account remained in the red in November due to a deficit in current transfers outweighing surpluses in goods and services traded.
In November, the deficit in current transfers amounted to 11.4 billion euros, offsetting a surplus in goods traded of 4.9 billion euros and in services of 4.3 billion euros.
The data, which have historically been subject to large revisions, showed that the eurozone's deficit has widened sharply in the past year.
Over the last 12 months, the deficit total amounted to 44.9 billion euros, or 0.5 per cent of gross domestic product.
That is far bigger than in the previous year, when the accumulated deficit came to 34.6 billion euros.
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