Monthly developments in January 2001 and notional Euro 12 data for 2000

1. Developments in January 2001

In the financial account, combined net direct and portfolio investment outflows in January 2001 reached EUR 50 billion, the highest level since January 2000. This was mainly related to exceptionally high net outflows of EUR 45.5 billion in portfolio investment, which compare with net inflows of EUR 22.1 billion in December 2000 and total net outflows of EUR 111.7 billion in 2000. On the other hand, net direct investment outflows remained limited in January 2001 (EUR 4.5 billion). Elsewhere in the financial account, net outflows in financial derivatives amounted to EUR 5.1 billion in January 2001. Net inflows in other investment amounted to EUR 47.9 billion. Reserve assets decreased by EUR 2.4 billion in January 2001 (excluding valuation effects).

2. Comparison between the Euro 11 and the Euro 12

Note on balance of payments statistics produced by the Eurosystem

Economy and Finance News Releases The results for January 2001 will also be published in the April 2001 issue of the

From January 2001 onwards, the published balance of payments data refer to the euro area including Greece. For purposes of comparison, the balance of payments (b.o.p.) data for the year 2000 published in this press release cover the euro area plus Greece. A selected subset of these notional data will be shown in the April edition of the Monthly Bulletin and all available b.o.p. data for the Euro 12 in 2000 will be presented on the ECB's website. The reference series for 2000 and earlier, as published in Table 8 of the Monthly Bulletin, will show Euro 11 data. The current account deficit for the euro area decreased to EUR 8.5 billion in January 2001, from EUR 10.4 billion in January 2000. This was primarily due to a shift in current transfers from a deficit of EUR 1.1 billion to a surplus of EUR 2.5 billion, along with a decrease in the deficit for goods (from EUR 2.4 billion in January 2000 to EUR 1.9 billion in January 2001). This more than offset the increase in the deficits for services (from EUR 1.8 billion to EUR 2.5 billion) and income (from EUR 5.2 billion to EUR 6.7 billion). The decline in the deficit for goods is due to a stronger increase in export values (by almost 25%) than in import values (by 23%) when comparing January 2001 with the same month last year. The main element in the net portfolio investment outflows in January 2001 was a swing in debt instruments from net inflows in December 2000 (EUR 17.2 billion) to net outflows (EUR 25.6 billion). In addition, substantial net outflows were recorded in portfolio equities (EUR 19.9 billion). In particular, non-residents reduced holdings of euro area securities, both debt instruments and equities, by an amount of EUR 11.2 billion, the only net outflow recorded since February 2000. Errors and omissions amounted to EUR 11.9 billion in January 2001. For the time being, figures for reserve assets and errors and omissions are not available for the Euro 12. The main differences between the Euro 11 and the notional Euro 12 aggregates in 2000 are found in the current account. The current account deficit for the euro area plus Greece amounted to EUR 38.5 billion for the year 2000, compared with a deficit of EUR 28.3 billion for the euro area excluding Greece (Euro 11). The higher deficit on current account (by EUR 10.2 billion) is due to a lower goods surplus (by EUR 23.0 billion) and a slightly higher deficit for income (by EUR 1.2 billion), which more than offset the smaller deficits for both services (by EUR 10.5 billion) and current transfers (by EUR 3.6 billion). Differences between the Euro 11 and notional Euro 12 aggregates for direct, portfolio and "other" investment in 2000 are very limited. Compared with the Euro 11, net direct investment outflows of the Euro 12 were marginally higher (EUR 25.6 billion, as compared with EUR 23.0 billion for the Euro 11), while net portfolio investment outflows were somewhat lower (EUR 111.7 billion, as compared with EUR 120.4 billion for the Euro 11). The methodology used was developed in close co-operation with the European Commission (Eurostat) which publishes the Balance of Payments for the European Union (   ). The ECB compiles these statistics on the basis of the data on extra-euro area transactions reported by euro area countries.

ECB Monthly Bulletin

Annex

. A detailed methodological note is available on the ECB's website.

Table 1

European Central Bank Press and Information Division Kaiserstrasse 29, D-60311 Frankfurt am Main Tel.: +49 69 13 44 74 55, Fax: +49 69 13 44 74 04 Internet: http://www.ecb.europa.eu

: Euro area balance of payments - monthly developments in January 2001 and notional Euro 12 data for 2000. Reproduction is permitted provided that the source is acknowledged