Euro zone current account surplus narrows in March on trade surplus drop

FRANKFURT, May 21 (Reuters) – The euro zone’s combined current ​account surplus ‌narrowed sharply in March on a big drop in the ‌trade ​surplus, likely ⁠caused by higher ⁠energy costs, data from the European Central Bank showed ​on Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted current ⁠account surplus ⁠narrowed to €14.9 ​billion in March from €25.6 ​billion, while a month ‌earlier based on unadjusted data the surplus widened ⁠to €24.1 billion from €21.7 billion.

In the 12 months to ⁠March, ‌the currency ⁠bloc’s surplus ​narrowed ‌to 1.7% of ​GDP from ⁠2.4% in the preceding 12 months.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Hugh ​Lawson)