Current Account in Spain

The current account is the section of the balance of payments that records Spain's transactions with the rest of the world in goods, services, primary income (labour and capital) and secondary income (current transfers, such as remittances). It is published monthly by the Bank of Spain.

It is the sum of the goods, services, primary income and secondary income balances. A positive figure means a current account surplus and a negative one a deficit; the balance equals Spain's net lending to or borrowing from the rest of the world. It is reported in millions of euros.

A current account deficit must be financed through capital inflows or a drawdown of reserves and erodes the net external position, whereas a surplus improves it. In Spain the tourism surplus in the services balance is decisive, making the account a reference for external soundness and for reducing foreign debt.

The figures are released with a lag of several weeks or months and are subject to revision as fuller data comes in. The headline balance does not reveal which sub-account is driving the move, and the strong seasonality of tourism shapes the monthly reading.