Spain: Current account surplus declines slightly in December
Spain’s current account balance recorded a surplus of EUR 4.7 billion in December, slightly below the EUR 5.1 billion surplus recorded in December 2017 but well above the EUR 1.8 billion surplus logged in November. In the 12 months up to December 2018, the current account balance reached a surplus of EUR 10.1 billion, the smallest in over four years and below the EUR 10.5 billion recorded in the 12 months up to November.
According to the Bank of Spain, the lower current account surplus compared to the previous year largely reflected the trade balance swinging to a small deficit of EUR 100 million in December 2018—mainly the result of higher imports—from a EUR 1.0 billion surplus logged in December 2017.