EuroWire, ROME: Italy’s current account surplus rose to €27.4 billion in 2025, up from €23.8 billion in 2024, according to Bank of Italy balance of payments data released on February 19, 2026. The current account measures flows of goods, services, income and transfers between residents and the rest of the world. The Bank of Italy said the improvement in 2025 was driven by a stronger income balance, while trade and transfer components moved in the opposite direction.
The central bank reported that the goods balance remained the main source of support for the overall surplus, even as it narrowed year on year. Italy’s goods surplus eased to €51.7 billion in 2025 from €55.0 billion in 2024. Services stayed in deficit and widened, with the shortfall increasing to €6.0 billion from €4.9 billion. The secondary income balance, which includes transfers, also recorded a larger deficit, at €21.6 billion from €18.7 billion.
The key swing came from primary income, which shifted into surplus in 2025. The Bank of Italy reported a €3.4 billion primary income surplus for 2025, compared with a €7.6 billion deficit in 2024. Primary income includes items such as compensation of employees and investment income flows. Taken together, the smaller goods surplus and wider services and secondary income deficits were offset by the improvement in primary income, lifting the annual current account balance.
Monthly details from December
In December 2025, Italy recorded a current account surplus of €3.109 billion, compared with €2.523 billion in December 2024, the Bank of Italy said. The monthly goods surplus rose to €6.019 billion from €5.310 billion a year earlier. Over the same period, the services deficit widened to €1.978 billion from €1.348 billion, reflecting a larger gap between services receipts and payments. The primary income balance improved to a €1.523 billion surplus from €0.834 billion.
The central bank reported that secondary income remained in deficit in December, at €2.455 billion, compared with €2.273 billion in December 2024. Adding the components, the December 2025 surplus reflected gains in the goods and primary income balances that outweighed the larger services and secondary income deficits. The Bank of Italy’s tables also show the 12-month cumulative figures through December 2025 matching the annual 2025 total, placing the year’s current account surplus at €27.372 billion.
Financial flows and external position
On the financial side, the Bank of Italy said net acquisitions of foreign assets amounted to €26.9 billion in 2025, compared with €51.8 billion in 2024. Within the financial account, the central bank reported negative balances for portfolio investment of €22.6 billion and for financial derivatives of €3.0 billion. These were more than offset by positive balances in direct investment of €11.0 billion, reserve assets of €1.7 billion, and other investment of €39.7 billion.
The Bank of Italy also reported that Italy’s net international investment position, the difference between external assets and liabilities, stood at €297.6 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2025, up from €238.0 billion at the end of the second quarter. The balance of payments and investment position figures were published in the Bank of Italy statistical release covering December 2025 and the full-year 2025 totals.