EU Current Account Surplus Widened, EU Passenger Car Registration Fell 5.2%

Bridgette Randall
18 Apr, 2024
Frankfurt

European markets edged higher, bond yields in the region inched lower, and the euro held near recent levels as investors debated future rate paths. 

Benchmark indexes in Frankfurt, Paris, and London looked up in choppy trading, and investors reviewed the latest update on EU car registration, current account surplus, and construction activities in the currency union. 

Eurozone Current Account Surplus Expands 

The current account surplus widened to €31.6 billion in February from €10.7 billion a year ago, the European Central Bank reported Thursday. 

The increase was driven by the surge in international goods trade surplus to €40.5 billion from €21.0 billion, and service surplus decreased to €2.1 billion from €4.6 billion from a year ago, respectively. 

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the current account surplus declined to a three-month low of €29 billion from €39 billion in January. 

 

EU Passenger Car Registration Falls In March 

New passenger car registration in the European Union decreased 5.2% from a year ago in March to 1.0 million vehicles, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. 

The annual pace of passenger car registration declined for the first time in three months on weak demand in all four leading markets in the union. 

Car registration reversed the increase of 10.1% in February, and the annual pace of decline was the largest since July 2022, largely because of the timing of the Easter holidays. 

However, passenger car registration increased 16% from February to 884,000. 

Car registration declined 6.2% in Germany, 4.7% in Spain, 3.7% in Italy, and 1.5% in France. 

In the first quarter of the year, car registrations increased by 4.4%, reaching nearly 2.8 million units. 

The bloc’s major markets saw solid growth from January to March, with Italy and France each recording a 5.7% increase, followed by 4.2% in Germany and 3.1% in Spain.

Battery-electric car registrations fell by 11.3% to 134,397 units amid a broader market downturn, and as a result, battery-powered vehicle's market share shrank to 13% from 13.9% in the month a year ago. 

The first quarter of 2024 ended with a total of 332,999 new battery-electric cars registered, a 3.8% rise from the same quarter in the previous year.

 

Europe Indexes and Yields

The DAX index increased by 0.5% to 17,767.51; the CAC-40 index rose by 0.4% to 8,010.58; and the FTSE 100 index inched higher by 0.2% to 7,864.08.

The yield on 10-year German bonds edged up to 2.45%; French bonds inched lower to 2.95%; the UK gilts edged lower to 4.23%; and Italian bonds inched lower to 3.84%.

The euro edged higher to $1.064; the British pound inched higher to $1.246; and the U.S. dollar edged higher to 90.68 Swiss cents.

Brent crude decreased $1.27 to $86.27 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas rose by €0.14 to €31.81 per MWh.

 

Europe Stock Movers

BHP Group declined 0.5% to 2,354.0 pence after iron ore production declined in the fiscal third quarter. 

Centamin PLC dropped 4.5% to 123.40 pence after production in the first quarter slightly declined. 

Danone SA rose 1.8% to €59.60 after the yogurt maker posted better-than-expected results and reiterated its fiscal year 2024 sales outlook. 

Net sales in the first quarter decreased by 2.5% to 6.78 billion from 6.96 billion in the quarter a year ago. 

Comparable sales in the quarter rose 4.1% after taking into account the sale of its French biscuit brand, Michel et Augustin. 

The company guided comparable sales to increase between 3% and 5%, with a moderate improvement in recurring operating margin. 

easyJet rose 2.5% to 531.0 pence after the discount airline forecasted a smaller-than-expected loss in the first half. 

Passengers in the fiscal second quarter increased to 16.8 million from 15.6 million, and seats flown increased to 19.3 million from 17.7 million, resulting in a slight decline in load factor to 87% from 88% in the quarter a year ago. 

Total group revenue and headline costs for the first half are expected to be around £3,270 million and around £3,620 million, respectively. 

ABB Ltd. increased 5.4% to CHF 43.98 after the Swiss engineering company reported higher operating earnings and offered a positive outlook for revenue growth in 2024. 

Nokia increased 0.1% to €3.17 after the Finnish telecom equipment maker reported weaker-than-expected profit in the first quarter. 

Sartorius AG declined 10.4% to €223.0 after the German lab supply maker reported weaker-than-expected new orders and revenue in the first quarter. 

Automakers advanced following the release of monthly passenger car registrations in the European Union. 

Volkswagen increased 0.5% to €121.65, Mercedes-Benz Group added 0.4% to €74.70, Renault added 0.9% to €48.75, and Peugeot Invest gained 0.7% to €110.20. 

Stellantis declined 0.4% to €24.18.