Germany ran world's largest current account surplus in 2019 -Ifo
CONTRIBUTOR
Rene Wagner Reuters
PUBLISHED
FEB 3, 2020 8:47AM EST
Germany's current account surplus remained the world's largest last year despite trade tensions, the Ifo economic institute said on Monday, in an estimate likely to renew criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel's fiscal policies.
By Rene Wagner
BERLIN, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Germany's current account surplus remained the world's largest last year despite trade tensions, the Ifo economic institute said on Monday, in an estimate likely to renew criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel's fiscal policies.
The Ifo calculations, reported exclusively by Reuters ahead of publication by the economic institute, put Germany's current account surplus -- which measures the flow of goods, services and investments -- at some $293 billion in 2019.
It is the fourth successive year that Germany's current account surplus has been the world's largest, with Japan's the next biggest at $194 billion, according to Ifo calculations.
The International Monetary Fund and the European Commission have for years urged Germany, Europe's largest economy, to do more to lift domestic demand and imports as a way to reduce global economic imbalances and stimulate growth elsewhere