In 2010 gross savings as a fraction of households’  BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  disposable income stood at roughly 14 percent in the euro area, 8.6 percent in the US, and 5.4 percent in the UK. Trade within the euro area and the EU is flourishing as well as the exchange of goods and services with the rest of the world.
The euro area is the most open major economy in the world. In 2011, exports of goods and services from the euro area stood at 22.7 percent of GDP compared to 12.6 percent of GDP in the US. The current account in the euro area is broadly in balance (-0.4 percent of GDP in 2010).