U.S. International Transactions

Fourth Quarter and Year 2017

Prepared by Michelle Murillo  |  Volume 98, Number 4  |  April 17, 2018

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The U.S. current-account deficit—a net measure of transactions between the United States and the rest of the world in goods, services, primary income, and secondary income—increased to $128.2 billion (preliminary) in the fourth quarter of 2017 from $101.5 billion (revised) in the third quarter (chart 1 and table A). The deficit was 2.6 percent of current-dollar gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter, up from 2.1 percent in the third quarter.

The $26.7 billion increase in the current-account deficit mostly reflected increases in the deficits on goods and secondary income and a decrease in the surplus on primary income.

The annual current-account deficit increased to $466.2 billion (preliminary) in 2017 from $451.7 billion in 2016. The deficit was 2.4 percent of current-dollar GDP in 2017, the same percentage as in 2016.

Net U.S. borrowing measured by financial-account transactions was $29.8 billion in the fourth quarter, a decrease from net borrowing of $121.8 billion in the third quarter.

Net U.S. borrowing measured by financial-account transactions was $349.2 billion in 2017, a decrease from net borrowing of $377.7 billion in 2016.

Table A. U.S. International Transactions
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
  2017 Change 2017:III
to 2017:IV
I r II r III r IV p
Current account          
Exports of goods and services and income receipts (credits) 833,304 833,996 862,133 878,755 16,622
Exports of goods and services 574,672 574,424 582,983 599,519 16,536
Goods 382,121 381,422 386,507 400,670 14,163
Services 192,551 193,002 196,476 198,849 2,373
Primary income receipts 219,580 225,412 237,925 243,945 6,020
Secondary income (current transfer) receipts 39,052 34,160 41,225 35,291 −5,934
Imports of goods and services and income payments (debits) 946,175 957,738 963,608 1,006,913 43,305
Imports of goods and services 712,516 715,870 718,248 753,406 35,158
Goods 582,503 582,694 581,804 614,931 33,127
Services 130,014 133,176 136,445 138,474 2,029
Primary income payments 169,152 174,533 179,430 186,749 7,319
Secondary income (current transfer) payments 64,507 67,335 65,930 66,758 828
Capital account          
Capital transfer receipts and other credits 0 0 24,868 0 −24,868
Capital transfer payments and other debits 1 0 0 20 20
Financial account          
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets excluding financial derivatives
(net increase in assets / financial outflow (+))		 332,387 351,460 350,653 177,861 −172,792
Direct investment assets 123,719 97,210 96,734 106,755 10,021
Portfolio investment assets 140,446 186,482 179,260 83,330 −95,930
Other investment assets 68,464 67,618 74,720 −10,685 −85,405
Reserve assets −241 150 −61 −1,539 −1,478
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities excluding financial derivatives
(net increase in liabilities / financial inflow (+))		 417,760 470,708 491,010 208,437 −282,573
Direct investment liabilities 97,703 93,205 103,675 54,091 −49,584
Portfolio investment liabilities 164,522 291,264 296,404 84,860 −211,544
Other investment liabilities 155,535 86,238 90,932 69,486 −21,446
Financial derivatives other than reserves, net transactions −2,320 9,306 18,600 777 −17,823
Statistical discrepancy          
Statistical discrepancy 1 25,179 13,800 −45,150 98,379 143,529
Balances          
Balance on current account −112,871 −123,742 −101,475 −128,158 −26,683
Balance on goods and services −137,845 −141,446 −135,265 −153,886 −18,621
Balance on goods −200,382 −201,272 −195,297 −214,261 −18,964
Balance on services 62,538 59,826 60,032 60,375 343
Balance on primary income 50,429 50,879 58,495 57,195 −1,300
Balance on secondary income −25,455 −33,175 −24,706 −31,467 −6,761
Balance on capital account −1 0 24,868 −20 −24,888
Net lending (+) or net borrowing (–) from current- and capital-account transactions 2 −112,872 −123,742 −76,608 −128,178 −51,570
Net lending (+) or net borrowing (–) from financial-account transactions 3 −87,693 −109,942 −121,757 −29,799 91,958
p
Preliminary
r
Revised
  1. The statistical discrepancy is the difference between net acquisition of financial assets and net incurrence of liabilities in the financial account (including financial derivatives) less the difference between total credits and total debits recorded in the current and capital accounts.
  2. Sum of current- and capital-account balances.
  3. Sum of net U.S. acquisition of financial assets and net transactions in financial derivatives less net U.S. incurrence of liabilities.

Note. The statistics are presented in table 1.2 on BEA’s Web site.

Current-account highlights

  • The deficit on goods increased $19.0 billion in the fourth quarter to $214.3 billion.
  • The deficit on secondary income increased $6.8 billion to $31.5 billion.
  • The surplus on primary income decreased $1.3 billion to $57.2 billion.
  • The surplus on services increased $0.3 billion to $60.4 billion.

Capital-account highlights

Chart 1. Current-Account Transactions

[View larger chart]

Chart 2. Current-Account Transactions

[View larger chart]

The balance on the capital account shifted to a deficit of less than $0.1 billion in the fourth quarter from a surplus of $24.9 billion in the third quarter. Third-quarter transactions reflected receipts from foreign insurance companies for losses resulting from hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.1

Financial-account highlights

  • Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets excluding financial derivatives decreased $172.8 billion to $177.9 billion (chart 2).
  • Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities excluding financial derivatives decreased $282.6 billion to $208.4 billion.
  • Transactions in financial derivatives other than reserves reflected fourth-quarter net lending of $0.8 billion, a decrease of $17.8 billion from the third quarter.

Statistical discrepancy

The statistical discrepancy was $98.4 billion in the fourth quarter; it was –$45.2 billion in the third quarter.

Exports of goods and services and income receipts increased $16.6 billion, or 1.9 percent, in the fourth quarter to $878.8 billion (charts 3 and 4 and table B).

  • Goods exports increased $14.2 billion, or 3.7 percent, to $400.7 billion, mostly reflecting an increase in industrial supplies and materials, primarily petroleum and products.
  • Primary income receipts increased $6.0 billion, or 2.5 percent, to $243.9 billion, mostly reflecting increases in direct investment income and in portfolio investment income.
  • Secondary income receipts decreased $5.9 billion, or 14.4 percent, to $35.3 billion, partly offsetting the increases in goods exports and in primary income receipts. The decrease in secondary income receipts mostly reflected a decrease in U.S. government transfers, primarily fines and penalties.
Chart 3. Acquisition of Financial Assets and Incurrence of Liabilties Excluding Financial Derivatives

[Click Chart to Expand]

Chart 4. Percent Change in Exports of Goods and Services and Income Receipts

[Click Chart to Expand]

Table B. Exports of Goods and Services and Income Receipts
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
  2017 Change 2017:III
to 2017:IV
I r II r III r IV p
Exports of goods and services and income receipts 833,304 833,996 862,133 878,755 16,622
Exports of goods 382,121 381,422 386,507 400,670 14,163
General merchandise 375,870 375,668 381,519 395,874 14,355
Foods, feeds, and beverages 32,376 34,016 35,057 31,467 −3,590
Industrial supplies and materials 110,283 109,540 110,421 123,491 13,070
Energy products 37,588 37,795 37,969 45,769 7,800
Of which: Petroleum and products 31,655 31,983 32,394 39,994 7,600
Nonenergy products 72,695 71,745 72,452 77,722 5,270
Capital goods except automotive 129,765 130,542 135,194 137,596 2,402
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 40,236 39,171 38,716 39,431 715
Consumer goods except food and automotive 49,862 48,762 48,789 49,858 1,069
Other general merchandise 13,347 13,637 13,341 14,031 690
Net exports of goods under merchanting 75 65 47 54 7
Nonmonetary gold 6,175 5,689 4,941 4,742 −199
           
Exports of services 1 192,551 193,002 196,476 198,849 2,373
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e. 6,969 6,611 6,179 6,157 −22
Transport 21,427 21,196 21,772 22,153 381
Travel (for all purposes including education) 51,838 50,616 50,392 50,849 457
Business 9,913 9,685 9,262 9,698 436
Personal 41,925 40,931 41,130 41,152 22
Insurance services 4,106 4,308 4,630 4,771 141
Financial services 25,342 25,926 27,174 27,982 808
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 29,830 31,671 33,188 33,247 59
Telecommunications, computer, and information services 9,619 9,533 9,824 9,961 137
Other business services 38,505 38,207 38,467 39,279 812
Government goods and services n.i.e. 4,916 4,934 4,850 4,449 −401
           
Primary income receipts 219,580 225,412 237,925 243,945 6,020
Investment income 217,934 223,758 236,264 242,284 6,020
Direct investment income 123,195 123,135 128,975 131,724 2,749
Portfolio investment income 82,171 85,666 90,534 93,047 2,513
Income on equity and investment fund shares 53,958 56,640 60,591 61,948 1,357
Interest on debt securities 28,214 29,026 29,943 31,100 1,157
Other investment income 12,509 14,822 16,632 17,431 799
Reserve asset income 59 135 123 82 −41
Compensation of employees 1,646 1,654 1,661 1,660 −1
Secondary income (current transfer) receipts 2 39,052 34,160 41,225 35,291 −5,934
p
Preliminary
r
Revised
n.i.e.
Not included elsewhere
  1. See also Alexis N. Grimm and Shari Allen, ”U.S. International Services: Trade in Services in 2016 and Services Supplied Through Affiliates in 2015,” Survey of Current Business 97 (October 2017).
  2. Secondary income receipts include U.S. government and private transfers, such as fines and penalties, withholding taxes, insurance-related transfers, and other current transfers.

Note. The statistics are presented in table 1.2, table 2.1, table 3.1, table 4.1, and table 5.1 on BEA’s Web site.

Chart 5. Percent Change in Imports of Goods and Services and Income Payments

[Click Chart to Expand]

Imports of goods and services and income payments increased $43.3 billion, or 4.5 percent, to $1,006.9 billion (charts 3 and 5 and table C).

  • Goods imports increased $33.1 billion, or 5.7 percent, to $614.9 billion, mostly reflecting increases in industrial supplies and materials, primarily petroleum and products, and in consumer goods except food and automotive.
  • Primary income payments increased $7.3 billion, or 4.1 percent, to $186.7 billion, primarily reflecting an increase in direct investment income.
Table C. Imports of Goods and Services and Income Payments
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
  2017 Change 2017:III
to 2017:IV
I r II r III r IV p
Imports of goods and services and income payments 946,175 957,738 963,608 1,006,913 43,305
Imports of goods 582,503 582,694 581,804 614,931 33,127
General merchandise 579,156 580,099 579,016 611,458 32,442
Foods, feeds, and beverages 33,731 34,453 35,103 35,544 441
Industrial supplies and materials 130,069 126,225 122,171 133,570 11,399
Energy products 59,512 52,497 48,407 55,648 7,241
Of which: Petroleum and products 55,746 47,984 44,197 51,447 7,250
Nonenergy products 70,557 73,728 73,764 77,922 4,158
Capital goods except automotive 153,142 157,790 163,473 169,290 5,817
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 91,022 89,368 88,997 90,520 1,523
Consumer goods except food and automotive 149,773 149,400 146,918 158,153 11,235
Other general merchandise 21,418 22,863 22,354 24,381 2,027
Nonmonetary gold 3,347 2,595 2,788 3,473 685
           
Imports of services 1 130,014 133,176 136,445 138,474 2,029
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e. 2,270 2,212 2,039 2,038 −1
Transport 25,201 25,136 25,072 25,808 736
Travel (for all purposes including education) 32,624 34,000 34,153 34,432 279
Business 4,037 4,125 4,165 4,348 183
Personal 28,587 29,874 29,988 30,084 96
Insurance services 11,839 12,364 12,677 12,818 141
Financial services 6,484 6,813 7,253 7,436 183
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 11,726 12,105 12,041 12,481 440
Telecommunications, computer, and information services 9,956 9,758 10,148 10,360 212
Other business services 24,371 25,318 27,485 27,599 114
Government goods and services n.i.e. 5,542 5,471 5,576 5,503 −73
           
Primary income payments 169,152 174,533 179,430 186,749 7,319
Investment income 164,132 169,310 174,031 181,354 7,323
Direct investment income 48,874 49,564 49,442 54,088 4,646
Portfolio investment income 106,022 108,444 111,396 113,001 1,605
Income on equity and investment fund shares 35,271 36,036 36,711 36,661 −50
Interest on debt securities 70,751 72,408 74,684 76,339 1,655
Other investment income 9,235 11,301 13,193 14,265 1,072
Compensation of employees 5,020 5,223 5,398 5,395 −3
Secondary income (current transfer) payments 2 64,507 67,335 65,930 66,758 828
p
Preliminary
r
Revised
n.i.e.
Not included elsewhere
  1. See also Alexis N. Grimm and Shari Allen, “U.S. International Services: Trade in Services in 2016 and Services Supplied Through Affiliates in 2015,” Survey of Current Business 97 (October 2017).
  2. Secondary income payments include U.S. government and private transfers, such as U.S. government grants and pensions, fines and penalties, withholding taxes, personal transfers (remittances), insurance-related transfers, and other current transfers.

Note. The statistics are presented in table 1.2, table 2.1, table 3.1, table 4.1, and table 5.1 on BEA’s Web site.

Acquisition of financial assets

  • Net U.S. acquisition of portfolio investment assets decreased $95.9 billion to $83.3 billion, reflecting a shift to net U.S. sales of foreign equity and investment fund shares from third-quarter net purchases (chart 6 and table D).
  • Transactions in other investment assets shifted to net U.S. liquidation of $10.7 billion in the fourth quarter from net acquisition of $74.7 billion in the third quarter, mostly reflecting a shift to net foreign repayment of loans from third-quarter net U.S. provision of loans to foreigners.
Chart 6. Transactions in Financial Assets and Liabilities Excluding Financial Derivatives

[View larger chart]

Incurrence of liabilities

  • Net U.S. incurrence of portfolio investment liabilities decreased $211.5 billion to $84.9 billion, reflecting a decrease in net foreign purchases of U.S. long-term debt securities and a shift to net foreign sales of U.S. equity and investment fund shares from third-quarter net foreign purchases.
  • Net U.S. incurrence of direct investment liabilities decreased $49.6 billion to $54.1 billion, primarily reflecting a shift to net U.S. repayment of debt instrument liabilities from third-quarter net incurrence.
  • Net U.S. incurrence of other investment liabilities decreased $21.4 billion to $69.5 billion, reflecting largely offsetting changes in transactions in loan and deposit liabilities. In loans, transactions shifted to net U.S. repayment of loan liabilities from third-quarter net incurrence. In deposits, transactions shifted to net incurrence of deposit liabilities from third-quarter net foreign withdrawal of deposits in the United States.
Table D. Net U.S. Acquisition of Financial Assets and Net U.S. Incurrence of Liabilities
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
  2017 Change 2017:III
to 2017:IV
I r II r III r IV p
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets excluding financial derivatives
(net increase in assets / financial outflow (+))		 332,387 351,460 350,653 177,861 −172,792
Direct investment assets 123,719 97,210 96,734 106,755 10,021
Equity 98,533 93,566 67,847 114,970 47,123
Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 12,212 5,357 2,317 10,446 8,129
Reinvestment of earnings 86,321 88,210 65,530 104,524 38,994
Debt instruments 25,185 3,644 28,888 −8,214 −37,102
Portfolio investment assets 140,446 186,482 179,260 83,330 −95,930
Equity and investment fund shares 37,395 120,716 69,592 −33,908 −103,500
Debt securities 103,051 65,766 109,667 117,237 7,570
Short-term securities 37,797 36,261 71,918 30,437 −41,481
Long-term corporate securities 46,179 20,106 26,309 61,963 35,654
Other long-term securities 19,075 9,399 11,440 24,837 13,397
Other investment assets 68,464 67,618 74,720 −10,685 −85,405
Currency and deposits 38,989 9,542 52,395 47,821 −4,574
Loans 25,660 58,461 21,093 −58,294 −79,387
Trade credit and advances 3,815 −385 1,232 −213 −1,445
Reserve assets −241 150 −61 −1,539 −1,478
Monetary gold 0 0 0 0 0
Special drawing rights 11 15 26 26 0
Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund −261 82 −98 −1,535 −1,437
Other reserve assets 9 54 11 −29 −40
           
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities excluding financial derivatives
(net increase in liabilities / financial inflow (+))		 417,760 470,708 491,010 208,437 −282,573
Direct investment liabilities 97,703 93,205 103,675 54,091 −49,584
Equity 89,652 68,499 73,210 62,324 −10,886
Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 62,439 48,213 44,741 29,817 −14,924
Reinvestment of earnings 27,212 20,286 28,469 32,507 4,038
Debt instruments 8,052 24,706 30,465 −8,234 −38,699
Portfolio investment liabilities 164,522 291,264 296,404 84,860 −211,544
Equity and investment fund shares 58,169 33,470 80,892 −5,706 −86,598
Debt securities 106,354 257,794 215,512 90,567 −124,945
Short term −4,454 37,173 −23,564 28,779 52,343
Treasury bills and certificates 634 25,737 4,416 24,623 20,207
Federally sponsored agency securities −1,920 −4,588 −1,957 2,186 4,143
Other short-term securities −3,168 16,024 −26,023 1,970 27,993
Long term 110,807 220,620 239,076 61,788 −177,288
Treasury bonds and notes 73,162 44,491 150,036 547 −149,489
Federally sponsored agency securities −17,773 24,265 14,484 8,043 −6,441
Corporate bonds and notes 53,569 146,735 75,096 53,430 −21,666
Other 1,849 5,129 −540 −232 308
Other investment liabilities 155,535 86,238 90,932 69,486 −21,446
Currency (short term) 20,764 15,830 15,850 17,262 1,412
Deposits 47,356 90,495 −30,871 59,793 90,664
Loans 78,731 −20,495 99,220 −9,839 −109,059
Trade credit and advances 8,683 409 6,733 2,270 −4,463
Special drawing rights allocations 0 0 0 0 0
p
Preliminary
r
Revised

Note. The statistics are presented in table 1.2, table 6.1, table 7.1, and table 8.1 on BEA’s Web site.

The U.S. international transactions statistics for the third quarter of 2017 have been updated to incorporate new and revised source data. In addition, the statistics for the first three quarters of 2017 have been updated to align the seasonally adjusted statistics with annual totals.

Table E. Updates to the Third-Quarter 2017 International Transactions Aggregates
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
  Preliminary estimate Revised estimate
Balance on goods −195,258 −195,297
Balance on services 60,900 60,032
Balance on primary income 57,033 58,495
Balance on secondary income (current transfers) −23,240 −24,706
Balance on current account −100,566 −101,475
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets 337,900 350,653
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities 462,131 491,010
Net lending or borrowing from financial-account transactions −105,631 −121,757

 

Current-account highlights

In 2017, the current-account deficit increased $14.6 billion to $466.2 billion, primarily reflecting an increase in the deficit on goods and a decrease in the surplus on services (chart 7 and table F). These changes were partly offset by an increase in the surplus on primary income and a decrease in the deficit on secondary income.

Chart 7. U.S. Current Account and Component Annual Balances

[View larger chart]

Exports of goods and services and income receipts increased $250.9 billion in 2017 to $3,408.2 billion.

  • Primary income receipts increased $112.9 billion to $926.9 billion, led by an increase in direct investment income.
  • Goods exports increased $95.0 billion to $1,550.7 billion, led by an increase in industrial supplies and materials.
  • Services exports increased $28.5 billion to $780.9 billion, led by increases in other business services and in financial services.

Imports of goods and services and income payments increased $265.5 billion to $3,874.4 billion.

  • Goods imports increased $153.7 billion to $2,361.9 billion, led by increases in industrial supplies and materials and in capital goods except automotive.
  • Primary income payments increased $69.1 billion to $709.9 billion, led by increases in portfolio investment income and in other investment income.
  • Services imports increased $33.5 billion to $538.1 billion, led by increases in travel (for all purposes including education) and in other business services.
Table F. Current Account
[Millions of dollars]
  2014 2015 2016 2017 p Change
2016 to 2017
Current account          
Exports of goods and services and income receipts (credits) 3,333,332 3,172,990 3,157,241 3,408,188 250,947
Exports of goods 1,633,986 1,510,757 1,455,704 1,550,720 95,016
Foods, feeds, and beverages 143,721 127,735 130,555 132,917 2,362
Industrial supplies and materials 500,677 417,445 386,767 453,735 66,968
Capital goods except automotive 551,758 539,758 519,839 533,098 13,259
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 159,812 151,921 150,313 157,554 7,241
Consumer goods except food and automotive 198,398 197,407 193,440 197,271 3,831
Other general merchandise 56,669 54,904 53,948 54,357 409
Net exports of goods under merchanting 299 261 301 241 −60
Nonmonetary gold 22,654 21,325 20,542 21,548 1,006
Exports of services 741,919 753,150 752,368 780,879 28,511
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e. 21,149 23,406 25,628 25,916 288
Transport 90,729 87,609 84,318 86,548 2,230
Travel (for all purposes including education) 191,918 205,418 205,940 203,696 −2,244
Insurance services 17,333 16,229 16,348 17,815 1,467
Financial services 106,949 102,595 98,180 106,424 8,244
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 129,716 124,442 124,453 127,935 3,482
Telecommunications, computer, and information services 34,691 35,664 36,455 38,937 2,482
Other business services 128,915 136,622 142,231 154,458 12,227
Government goods and services n.i.e. 20,518 21,165 18,814 19,150 336
Primary income receipts 817,348 782,985 813,977 926,862 112,885
Direct investment income 474,805 436,909 444,038 507,029 62,991
Portfolio investment income 304,984 307,963 324,051 351,419 27,368
Other investment income 30,741 31,332 39,233 61,393 22,160
Reserve asset income 315 219 108 399 291
Compensation of employees 6,503 6,562 6,547 6,622 75
Secondary income (current transfer) receipts 140,079 126,098 135,192 149,728 14,536
Imports of goods and services and income payments (debits) 3,707,131 3,607,589 3,608,926 3,874,434 265,508
Imports of goods 2,385,480 2,272,612 2,208,211 2,361,932 153,721
Foods, feeds, and beverages 126,805 128,768 131,046 138,831 7,785
Industrial supplies and materials 675,567 492,241 441,834 512,036 70,202
Capital goods except automotive 598,759 606,772 593,902 643,695 49,793
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 329,498 350,034 351,050 359,908 8,858
Consumer goods except food and automotive 558,700 596,553 585,363 604,245 18,882
Other general merchandise 80,688 85,654 86,858 91,015 4,157
Nonmonetary gold 15,464 12,590 18,159 12,203 −5,956
Imports of services 480,761 491,740 504,654 538,108 33,454
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e. 7,520 9,010 8,810 8,559 −251
Transport 94,188 97,061 96,827 101,218 4,391
Travel (for all purposes including education) 105,668 114,723 123,618 135,209 11,591
Insurance services 51,011 47,822 48,077 49,698 1,621
Financial services 24,883 25,740 25,629 27,986 2,357
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 41,983 39,858 44,392 48,354 3,962
Telecommunications, computer, and information services 36,502 36,270 36,851 40,221 3,370
Other business services 94,771 99,665 98,922 104,773 5,851
Government goods and services n.i.e. 24,236 21,592 21,528 22,093 565
Primary income payments 606,573 602,023 640,751 709,864 69,113
Direct investment income 198,107 170,380 185,211 201,969 16,758
Portfolio investment income 377,539 398,379 409,152 438,863 29,711
Other investment income 13,869 14,967 26,245 47,995 21,750
Compensation of employees 17,059 18,297 20,143 21,036 893
Secondary income (current transfer) payments 234,317 241,214 255,309 264,530 9,221
Balances          
Balance on current account −373,800 −434,598 −451,685 −466,246 −14,561
Balance on goods −751,494 −761,855 −752,507 −811,212 −58,705
Balance on services 261,157 261,410 247,714 242,770 −4,944
Balance on primary income 210,774 180,962 173,225 216,998 43,773
Balance on secondary income −94,238 −115,116 −120,117 −114,802 5,315
p
Preliminary

Note. The statistics are presented in table 1.2 on BEA’s Web site.

Capital account

Capital transfer receipts were $24.9 billion in 2017 (table G). The transactions reflected receipts from foreign insurance companies for losses resulting from hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.2

Acquisition of financial assets

Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets excluding financial derivatives increased $864.5 billion to $1,212.4 billion.

  • Net U.S. acquisition of portfolio investment assets increased $548.9 billion to $589.5 billion, reflecting increases in net U.S. purchases of foreign debt securities and in net purchases of foreign equity and investment fund shares.
  • Transactions in other investment assets shifted to net U.S. acquisition of $200.1 billion in 2017 from net liquidation of $6.4 billion in 2016, primarily reflecting a shift to net U.S. acquisition of deposits abroad in 2017 from net withdrawal in 2016.
  • Net U.S. acquisition of direct investment assets increased $112.8 billion to $424.4 billion, reflecting a shift to net U.S. acquisition of debt instruments in 2017 from net foreign repayment in 2016 and an increase in net acquisition of equity assets.

Incurrence of liabilities

Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities excluding financial derivatives increased $846.5 billion to $1,587.9 billion.

  • Net U.S. incurrence of portfolio investment liabilities increased $599.7 billion to $837.1 billion, reflecting a shift to net foreign purchases of U.S. equity and investment fund shares in 2017 from net foreign sales in 2016 and an increase in net foreign purchases of U.S. long-term debt securities.
  • Net U.S. incurrence of other investment liabilities increased $377.6 billion to $402.2 billion, reflecting a shift to net U.S. incurrence of deposit liabilities in 2017 from net foreign withdrawal in 2016 and a shift to net U.S. incurrence of loan liabilities in 2017 from net repayment in 2016.
  • Net U.S. incurrence of direct investment liabilities decreased $130.7 billion to $348.7 billion, partly offsetting the increases in net U.S. incurrence of portfolio investment liabilities and other investment liabilities. The decrease in net U.S. incurrence of direct investment liabilities reflected decreases in net incurrence of debt instrument liabilities and equity liabilities.

Financial derivatives

Transactions in financial derivatives other than reserves reflected net lending of $26.4 billion in 2017, an increase of $10.5 billion from 2016.

Statistical discrepancy

The statistical discrepancy increased $18.1 billion in 2017 to $92.2 billion.

Table G. Capital and Financial Accounts and Statistical Discrepancy
[Millions of dollars]
  2014 2015 2016 2017 p Change
2016 to 2017
Capital account          
Capital transfer receipts and other credits 0 0 0 24,868 24,868
Capital transfer payments and other debits 45 42 59 21 −38
Financial account          
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets excluding financial derivatives
(net increase in assets / financial outflow (+))		 818,784 194,205 347,891 1,212,361 864,470
Direct investment assets 338,853 311,139 311,581 424,418 112,837
Equity 330,364 296,487 329,732 374,916 45,184
Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 18,791 5,572 31,138 30,332 −806
Reinvestment of earnings 311,574 290,915 298,594 344,584 45,990
Debt instruments 8,488 14,651 −18,151 49,502 67,653
Portfolio investment assets 582,677 160,410 40,638 589,516 548,878
Equity and investment fund shares 431,625 196,922 14,423 193,795 179,372
Debt securities 151,052 −36,511 26,215 395,721 369,506
Short term 11,378 43,048 −21,073 176,412 197,485
Long term 139,674 −79,559 47,288 219,309 172,021
Other investment assets −99,162 −271,052 −6,418 200,117 206,535
Currency and deposits −161,750 −201,635 −89,663 148,747 238,410
Loans 68,411 −67,715 82,338 46,920 −35,418
Trade credit and advances −5,824 −1,702 907 4,449 3,542
Reserve assets −3,583 −6,292 2,090 −1,690 −3,780
Monetary gold 0 0 0 0 0
Special drawing rights 23 9 684 78 −606
Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund −3,849 −6,485 1,348 −1,812 −3,160
Other reserve assets 243 185 58 44 −14
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities excluding financial derivatives
(net increase in liabilities / financial inflow (+))		 1,091,350 502,112 741,393 1,587,915 846,522
Direct investment liabilities 237,655 506,161 479,415 348,674 −130,741
Equity 146,413 390,160 351,769 293,684 −58,085
Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 51,570 309,413 254,097 185,210 −68,887
Reinvestment of earnings 94,842 80,747 97,672 108,475 10,803
Debt instruments 91,242 116,001 127,645 54,989 −72,656
Portfolio investment liabilities 703,480 213,977 237,367 837,051 599,684
Equity and investment fund shares 154,311 −187,306 −141,078 166,825 307,903
Debt securities 549,170 401,284 378,445 670,225 291,780
Short term 22,328 45,897 −8,582 37,934 46,516
Long term 526,841 355,387 387,027 632,291 245,264
Other investment liabilities 150,214 −218,027 24,612 402,191 377,579
Currency and deposits 59,723 36,228 19,654 236,480 216,826
Loans 77,891 −262,615 −2,310 147,616 149,926
Trade credit and advances 12,600 8,360 7,268 18,095 10,827
Special drawing rights allocations 0 0 0 0 0
Financial derivatives other than reserves, net transactions −54,270 −25,248 15,817 26,363 10,546
Statistical discrepancy          
Statistical discrepancy1 47,009 101,486 74,059 92,208 18,149
Balances          
Balance on capital account −45 −42 −59 24,847 24,906
Net lending (+) or net borrowing (–) from current- and capital-account transactions2 −373,845 −434,641 −451,744 −441,399 10,345
Net lending (+) or net borrowing (–) from financial-account transactions3 −326,836 −333,155 −377,685 −349,191 28,494
p
Preliminary
  1. The statistical discrepancy is the difference between net acquisition of assets and net incurrence of liabilities in the financial account (including financial derivatives) less the difference between total credits and total debits recorded in the current and capital accounts.

Note. The statistics are presented in table 1.2 and table 6.1 on BEA’s Web site.

 

  1. For more information, see “U.S. International Transactions: Third Quarter of 2017,” Survey of Current Business 97 (January 2018).
  2. See note 1 above.