Live Updates > Live Update Details
2025-09-12 21:30:06
[European Economic Winds Shift: Huge Surplus Unexpectedly Shrinks] ⑴ Data released by the German Central Bank revealed that Germany's current account surplus narrowed to €1.48 billion in July 2025, down €230 million from the previous month. This decline was primarily due to a strong decline in the intangible current account (including services, primary, and secondary income), which outweighed the increase in the goods trade surplus, reflecting subtle financial shifts in the economy's structure. ⑵ On the goods account, the surplus still widened by €200 million to €1.64 billion in July, as export revenues outpaced import spending. However, the intangible current account turned from a €270 million surplus in June to a €160 million deficit. The services account deficit widened significantly, primarily due to imbalances in telecommunications, computer, and information services, as well as a decrease in net income from intellectual property royalties, highlighting the challenges facing the services trade sector. ⑶ Meanwhile, Germany's net capital outflows fell sharply to €170 million in July, down significantly from €4.87 billion in June. This change reflects a growing appetite among global investors for German assets. Among them, direct investment saw a net capital inflow of 460 million euros, in stark contrast to the net outflow in the previous month. ⑷ In terms of investment portfolios, foreign investors made net purchases of German securities worth 3.53 billion euros, especially 2.63 billion euros of German bonds, showing a preference for bonds of the core economies of the eurozone. At the same time, German domestic investors made net purchases of foreign securities worth 1.08 billion euros. In other investment categories, businesses and households dominated the net capital outflow of 2.58 billion euros.
