http://english.people.com.cn/200606/14/eng20060614_273830.html June 14, 2006
EU's current account deficit widens in 1st quarter
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The European Union's current account deficit surged 91 percent year-on-year to 34.3 billion euros (43.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter this year, according to estimates released by the EU's statistical office Eurostat on Tuesday.

This is the fifth straight rise in the 25-nation bloc's quarterly deficit.

The current account deficit stood at 17.9 billion euros (22.6 billion dollars) in the opening quarter of last year and grew to 32.0 billion euros (40.3 billion dollars) in the fourth quarter.

In the first quarter of 2006, the EU's services account recorded a surplus of 11.2 billion euros (14.1 billion dollars), a 27 percent rise from the same period last year, but the figure fell below the level of the previous quarter when it stood at 14.4 billion euros (18.1 billion dollars).

According to the estimates, the EU's current account deficit represented 1.3 percent of the bloc's GDP in the first quarter, up from 1.1 percent the previous quarter.

Source: Xinhua