Euro zone deficit narrows in March

The euro zone deficit narrowed to €3.2 billion in March, the European Central Bank said today.

The decline from February's deficit of €4 billion is being attributed to a fall in the deficit in the income account, which stood at €4.7 billion in March compared with February's €5.8 billion.

The deficit on current transfers grew slightly to €2.7 billion, from €2.6 billion the month before.

The surplus in goods trade increased to €2.4 billion in March, up from €1.1 billion in February. However, this was offset by a slump in the surplus in services from €3.3 billion to €1.9 billion.

There was a combined direct and portfolio investment net inflow of €56.7 billion during the month, compared with February's net outflow of €4.9 billion.