Spain: Current account surplus declines in October
Spain’s current account balance recorded a surplus of EUR 294 million in October, a marked decline from the EUR 1.9 billion surplus recorded in October 2017 and well below the EUR 696 million surplus logged in September. In the 12 months up to October 2018, the current account balance reached a surplus of EUR 12.3 billion, the smallest since January 2016 and below the EUR 13.8 billion recorded in the 12 months up to September.
According to the Bank of Spain, the lower current account surplus compared to the previous year reflected the smaller trade surplus recorded in October 2018 of EUR 2.0 billion —mainly the result of exports expanding less than imports— below the EUR 3.6 billion logged in October 2017.