U.S. Net International Investment Position
Fourth Quarter and Year 2017
The U.S. net international investment position—the value of U.S. assets less the value of U.S. liabilities—decreased to −$7,845.8 billion (preliminary) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017 from −$7,739.7 billion (revised) at the end of the third quarter (chart 1). The $106.1 billion decrease reflected a $727.2 billion increase in U.S. assets and an $833.3 billion increase in U.S. liabilities (table A). The negative net investment position represents a U.S. net liability to the rest of the world.
- The $106.1 billion decrease in the net investment position reflected net financial transactions of –$52.4 billion and net other changes in position, such as price and exchange-rate changes, of –$53.8 billion.
- The net investment position decreased 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of 3.3 percent in the third quarter. The net investment position decreased an average of 5.0 percent each quarter from the first quarter of 2011 through the second quarter of 2017.
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| Type of investment | Position, 2017:III |
Change in position in 2017:IV | Position, 2017:IV |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Attributable to: | ||||
| Financial transactions |
Other changes in position 1 |
||||
| U.S. net international investment position | −7,739.7 | −106.1 | −52.4 | −53.8 | −7,845.8 |
| Net position excluding financial derivatives | −7,773.5 | −100.6 | −53.2 | −47.5 | −7,874.1 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves, net | 33.8 | −5.5 | 0.8 | −6.3 | 28.3 |
| U.S. assets | 26,905.6 | 727.2 | (2) | (2) | 27,632.8 |
| Assets excluding financial derivatives | 25,200.5 | 809.8 | 151.0 | 658.8 | 26,010.4 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,705.1 | −82.6 | (2) | (2) | 1,622.5 |
| U.S. liabilities | 34,645.3 | 833.3 | (2) | (2) | 35,478.6 |
| Liabilities excluding financial derivatives | 32,974.0 | 910.5 | 204.2 | 706.3 | 33,884.4 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,671.3 | −77.1 | (2) | (2) | 1,594.2 |
- Disaggregation of other changes in position into price changes, exchange-rate changes, and other changes in volume and valuation is only presented for annual statistics released in June each year.
- Financial transactions and other changes in financial derivatives positions are available only on a net basis; they are not separately available for U.S. assets and U.S. liabilities.
Note. The statistics on positions are presented in table 1.2 of the international investment position (IIP) accounts on BEA’s Web site. The statistics on financial transactions are not seasonally adjusted and are presented in table 1.2 of the international transactions accounts (ITA) on BEA’s Web site.
U.S. assets increased $727.2 billion to $27,632.8 billion at the end of the fourth quarter, mostly reflecting increases in portfolio investment and direct investment assets (table B, chart 2).
- Assets excluding financial derivatives increased $809.8 billion to $26,010.4 billion. The increase resulted from other changes in position of $658.8 billion and financial transactions of $151.0 billion. Other changes in position mostly reflected (1) foreign equity price increases that raised the value of portfolio investment and direct investment equity assets and (2) the appreciation of major foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar that raised the value of foreign-currency-denominated assets in dollar terms. Financial transactions mostly reflected net acquisition of portfolio investment debt securities and direct investment equity assets.
- Financial derivatives decreased $82.6 billion to $1,622.5 billion, mostly in single-currency interest rate contracts and foreign exchange contracts.
| Type of investment | Position, 2017:III |
Change in position in 2017:IV | Position, 2017:IV |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Attributable to: | ||||
| Financial transactions |
Other changes in position 1 |
||||
| U.S. assets | 26,905.6 | 727.2 | (2) | (2) | 27,632.8 |
| Assets excluding financial derivatives | 25,200.5 | 809.8 | 151.0 | 658.8 | 26,010.4 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,705.1 | −82.6 | (2) | (2) | 1,622.5 |
| By functional category: | |||||
| Direct investment at market value | 8,595.4 | 268.0 | 79.9 | 188.1 | 8,863.4 |
| Equity | 7,346.7 | 276.5 | 88.1 | 188.3 | 7,623.2 |
| Debt instruments | 1,248.7 | −8.5 | −8.2 | −0.3 | 1,240.2 |
| Portfolio investment | 11,905.5 | 537.7 | 83.3 | 454.3 | 12,443.2 |
| Equity and investment fund shares | 8,622.1 | 405.0 | −33.9 | 438.9 | 9,027.0 |
| Debt securities | 3,283.4 | 132.7 | 117.2 | 15.5 | 3,416.1 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,705.1 | −82.6 | (2) | (2) | 1,622.5 |
| Over-the-counter contracts | 1,663.1 | −81.1 | (2) | (2) | 1,582.0 |
| Single-currency interest rate contracts | 1,201.8 | −51.3 | (2) | (2) | 1,150.5 |
| Foreign exchange contracts | 281.1 | −19.7 | (2) | (2) | 261.3 |
| Other contracts | 180.2 | −10.1 | (2) | (2) | 170.1 |
| Exchange-traded contracts | 42.1 | −1.5 | (2) | (2) | 40.5 |
| Other investment | 4,243.0 | 11.1 | −10.7 | 21.7 | 4,254.1 |
| Currency and deposits | 1,685.9 | 68.3 | 47.8 | 20.4 | 1,754.1 |
| Loans | 2,505.5 | −57.1 | −58.3 | 1.2 | 2,448.4 |
| Insurance technical reserves | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Trade credit and advances | 51.7 | −0.1 | −0.2 | 0.1 | 51.6 |
| Reserve assets | 456.6 | −6.8 | −1.5 | −5.3 | 449.7 |
| Monetary gold | 343.9 | −6.3 | 0.0 | −6.3 | 337.6 |
| Special drawing rights | 51.4 | 0.4 | (*) | 0.4 | 51.9 |
| Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund | 19.0 | −1.4 | −1.5 | 0.1 | 17.6 |
| Other reserve assets | 42.2 | 0.4 | (*) | 0.4 | 42.6 |
- n.a.
- Not available
- (*)
- Nonzero value that rounds to zero
- Disaggregation of other changes in position into price changes, exchange-rate changes, and other changes in volume and valuation is only presented for annual statistics released in June each year.
- Financial transactions and other changes in financial derivatives positions are available only on a net basis; they are not separately available for U.S. assets and U.S. liabilities.
Note. The statistics on positions are presented in IIP table 1.2 on BEA’s Web site and the statistics on financial transactions are not seasonally adjusted and are presented in ITA table 1.2.
U.S. liabilities increased $833.3 billion to $35,478.6 billion at the end of the fourth quarter, mostly reflecting increases in portfolio investment and direct investment liabilities (table C, chart 3).
- Liabilities excluding financial derivatives increased $910.5 billion to $33,884.4 billion. The increase resulted from other changes in position of $706.3 billion and financial transactions of $204.2 billion. Other changes in position mostly reflected U.S. equity price increases that raised the value of portfolio investment and direct investment equity liabilities. Financial transactions reflected net incurrence of liabilities in all major investment categories.
- Financial derivatives decreased $77.1 billion to $1,594.2 billion, mostly in single-currency interest rate contracts and foreign exchange contracts.
| Type of investment | Position, 2017:III |
Change in position in 2017:IV | Position, 2017:IV |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Attributable to: | ||||
| Financial transactions |
Other changes in position 1 |
||||
| U.S. liabilities | 34,645.3 | 833.3 | (2) | (2) | 35,478.6 |
| Liabilities excluding financial derivatives | 32,974.0 | 910.5 | 204.2 | 706.3 | 33,884.4 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,671.3 | −77.1 | (2) | (2) | 1,594.2 |
| By functional category: | |||||
| Direct investment at market value | 8,454.1 | 417.3 | 49.8 | 367.5 | 8,871.4 |
| Equity | 6,629.8 | 425.7 | 58.0 | 367.6 | 7,055.5 |
| Debt instruments | 1,824.2 | −8.4 | −8.2 | −0.1 | 1,815.9 |
| Portfolio investment | 19,057.9 | 446.2 | 84.9 | 361.4 | 19,504.2 |
| Equity and investment fund shares | 7,559.4 | 399.2 | −5.7 | 404.9 | 7,958.6 |
| Debt securities | 11,498.5 | 47.0 | 90.6 | −43.5 | 11,545.6 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,671.3 | −77.1 | (2) | (2) | 1,594.2 |
| Over-the-counter contracts | 1,630.0 | −75.7 | (2) | (2) | 1,554.4 |
| Single-currency interest rate contracts | 1,166.6 | −54.0 | (2) | (2) | 1,112.6 |
| Foreign exchange contracts | 281.7 | −15.0 | (2) | (2) | 266.8 |
| Other contracts | 181.8 | −6.7 | (2) | (2) | 175.1 |
| Exchange-traded contracts | 41.3 | −1.4 | (2) | (2) | 39.9 |
| Other investment | 5,461.9 | 46.9 | 69.5 | −22.6 | 5,508.9 |
| Currency and deposits | 3,120.2 | 77.3 | 77.1 | 0.3 | 3,197.5 |
| Loans | 2,100.5 | −33.1 | −9.8 | −23.2 | 2,067.4 |
| Insurance technical reserves | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Trade credit and advances | 191.4 | 2.3 | 2.3 | (*) | 193.7 |
| Special drawing rights allocations | 49.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 50.3 |
- n.a.
- Not available
- (*)
- Nonzero value that rounds to zero
- Disaggregation of other changes in position into price changes, exchange-rate changes, and other changes in volume and valuation is only presented for annual statistics released in June each year.
- Financial transactions and other changes in financial derivatives positions are available only on a net basis; they are not separately available for U.S. assets and U.S. liabilities.
Note. The statistics on positions are presented in IIP table 1.2 on BEA’s Web site and the statistics on financial transactions are not seasonally adjusted and are presented in ITA table 1.2.
The U.S. international investment position statistics for the third quarter of 2017 have been updated to incorporate newly available and revised source data (table D).
| Preliminary estimate | Revised estimate | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. net international investment position | −7,768.7 | −7,739.7 |
| U.S. assets | 26,854.9 | 26,905.6 |
| Direct investment at market value | 8,580.6 | 8,595.4 |
| Portfolio investment | 11,860.1 | 11,905.5 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,705.1 | 1,705.1 |
| Other investment | 4,252.5 | 4,243.0 |
| Reserve assets | 456.6 | 456.6 |
| U.S. liabilities | 34,623.6 | 34,645.3 |
| Direct investment at market value | 8,452.8 | 8,454.1 |
| Portfolio investment | 19,043.2 | 19,057.9 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,671.3 | 1,671.3 |
| Other investment | 5,456.2 | 5,461.9 |
The U.S. net international investment position increased to −$7,845.8 billion (preliminary) at the end of 2017 from −$8,318.4 billion at the end of 2016 (table E). The $472.6 billion increase reflected a $3,783.4 billion increase in U.S. assets and a $3,310.8 billion increase in U.S. liabilities.
U.S. assets increased $3,783.4 billion to $27,632.8 billion at the end of 2017, mostly reflecting increases in portfolio investment and direct investment assets that were partly offset by a decrease in financial derivatives (table E).
- Assets excluding financial derivatives increased $4,369.9 billion to $26,010.4 billion. The increase resulted from other changes in position of $3,157.5 billion and financial transactions of $1,212.4 billion. Other changes in position mostly reflected (1) foreign equity price increases that raised the value of portfolio investment and direct investment equity assets and (2) the appreciation of major foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar that raised the value of foreign-currency-denominated assets in dollar terms. Financial transactions reflected net acquisition of assets in all major investment categories except reserve assets.
- Financial derivatives decreased $586.5 billion to $1,622.5 billion, mostly in single-currency interest rate contracts and foreign exchange contracts.
| Type of investment | Yearend position, 2016 |
Change in position in 2017 | Yearend position, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Attributable to: | ||||
| Financial transactions |
Other changes in position 1 |
||||
| U.S. net international investment position | −8,318.4 | 472.6 | −349.2 | 821.8 | −7,845.8 |
| Net position excluding financial derivatives | −8,379.7 | 505.6 | −375.6 | 881.2 | −7,874.1 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves, net | 61.3 | −33.0 | 26.4 | −59.4 | 28.3 |
| U.S. assets | 23,849.4 | 3,783.4 | (2) | (2) | 27,632.8 |
| Assets excluding financial derivatives | 21,640.5 | 4,369.9 | 1,212.4 | 3,157.5 | 26,010.4 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,209.0 | −586.5 | (2) | (2) | 1,622.5 |
| By functional category: | |||||
| Direct investment at market value | 7,375.0 | 1,488.3 | 424.4 | 1,063.9 | 8,863.4 |
| Equity | 6,172.3 | 1,450.8 | 374.9 | 1,075.9 | 7,623.2 |
| Debt instruments | 1,202.7 | 37.5 | 49.5 | −12.0 | 1,240.2 |
| Portfolio investment | 9,879.2 | 2,563.9 | 589.5 | 1,974.4 | 12,443.2 |
| Equity and investment fund shares | 6,997.0 | 2,030.0 | 193.8 | 1,836.2 | 9,027.0 |
| Debt securities | 2,882.2 | 533.9 | 395.7 | 138.1 | 3,416.1 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,209.0 | −586.5 | (2) | (2) | 1,622.5 |
| Over-the-counter contracts | 2,166.9 | −585.0 | (2) | (2) | 1,582.0 |
| Single-currency interest rate contracts | 1,622.2 | −471.7 | (2) | (2) | 1,150.5 |
| Foreign exchange contracts | 386.7 | −125.3 | (2) | (2) | 261.3 |
| Other contracts | 158.0 | 12.1 | (2) | (2) | 170.1 |
| Exchange-traded contracts | 42.1 | −1.5 | (2) | (2) | 40.5 |
| Other investment | 3,978.9 | 275.2 | 200.1 | 75.0 | 4,254.1 |
| Currency and deposits | 1,559.8 | 194.3 | 148.7 | 45.6 | 1,754.1 |
| Loans | 2,373.7 | 74.7 | 46.9 | 27.8 | 2,448.4 |
| Insurance technical reserves | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Trade credit and advances | 45.4 | 6.2 | 4.4 | 1.7 | 51.6 |
| Reserve assets | 407.2 | 42.5 | −1.7 | 44.2 | 449.7 |
| Monetary gold | 301.1 | 36.5 | 0.0 | 36.5 | 337.6 |
| Special drawing rights | 48.9 | 3.0 | 0.1 | 2.9 | 51.9 |
| Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund | 18.4 | −0.8 | −1.8 | 1.1 | 17.6 |
| Other reserve assets | 38.9 | 3.7 | (*) | 3.7 | 42.6 |
- n.a.
- Not available
- (*)
- Nonzero value that rounds to zero
- Disaggregation of other changes in position into price changes, exchange-rate changes, and other changes in volume and valuation is only presented for annual statistics released in June each year.
- Financial transactions and other changes in financial derivatives positions are available only on a net basis; they are not separately available for U.S. assets and U.S. liabilities.
Note. The statistics on positions are presented in IIP table 1.2 on BEA’s Web site and the statistics on financial transactions are presented in ITA table 1.2.
U.S. liabilities increased $3,310.8 billion to $35,478.6 billion at the end of 2017, mostly reflecting increases in portfolio investment and direct investment liabilities that were partly offset by a decrease in financial derivatives (table F).
- Liabilities excluding financial derivatives increased $3,864.3 billion to $33,884.4 billion. The increase resulted from other changes in position of $2,276.4 billion and financial transactions of $1,587.9 billion. Other changes in position mostly reflected U.S. equity price increases that raised the value of portfolio investment and direct investment equity liabilities. Financial transactions reflected net incurrence of liabilities in all major investment categories.
- Financial derivatives decreased $553.5 billion to $1,594.2 billion, mostly in single-currency interest rate contracts and foreign exchange contracts.
| Type of investment | Yearend position, 2016 |
Change in position in 2017 | Yearend position, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Attributable to: | ||||
| Financial transactions |
Other changes in position 1 |
||||
| U.S. liabilities | 32,167.8 | 3,310.8 | (2) | (2) | 35,478.6 |
| Liabilities excluding financial derivatives | 30,020.1 | 3,864.3 | 1,587.9 | 2,276.4 | 33,884.4 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,147.7 | −553.5 | (2) | (2) | 1,594.2 |
| By functional category: | |||||
| Direct investment at market value | 7,569.3 | 1,302.1 | 348.7 | 953.5 | 8,871.4 |
| Equity | 5,783.5 | 1,272.0 | 293.7 | 978.3 | 7,055.5 |
| Debt instruments | 1,785.8 | 30.1 | 55.0 | −24.9 | 1,815.9 |
| Portfolio investment | 17,352.3 | 2,151.9 | 837.1 | 1,314.8 | 19,504.2 |
| Equity and investment fund shares | 6,564.0 | 1,394.7 | 166.8 | 1,227.8 | 7,958.6 |
| Debt securities | 10,788.4 | 757.2 | 670.2 | 87.0 | 11,545.6 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,147.7 | −553.5 | (2) | (2) | 1,594.2 |
| Over-the-counter contracts | 2,104.6 | −550.2 | (2) | (2) | 1,554.4 |
| Single-currency interest rate contracts | 1,568.1 | −455.6 | (2) | (2) | 1,112.6 |
| Foreign exchange contracts | 366.8 | −100.1 | (2) | (2) | 266.8 |
| Other contracts | 169.6 | 5.4 | (2) | (2) | 175.1 |
| Exchange-traded contracts | 43.1 | −3.3 | (2) | (2) | 39.9 |
| Other investment | 5,098.6 | 410.3 | 402.2 | 8.1 | 5,508.9 |
| Currency and deposits | 2,949.8 | 247.7 | 236.5 | 11.2 | 3,197.5 |
| Loans | 1,925.8 | 141.6 | 147.6 | −6.0 | 2,067.4 |
| Insurance technical reserves | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Trade credit and advances | 175.5 | 18.2 | 18.1 | 0.1 | 193.7 |
| Special drawing rights allocations | 47.5 | 2.8 | 0.0 | 2.8 | 50.3 |
- n.a.
- Not available
- Disaggregation of other changes in position into price changes, exchange-rate changes, and other changes in volume and valuation is only presented for annual statistics released in June each year.
- Financial transactions and other changes in financial derivatives positions are available only on a net basis; they are not separately available for U.S. assets and U.S. liabilities.
Note. The statistics on positions are presented in IIP table 1.2 on BEA’s Web site and the statistics on financial transactions are presented in ITA table 1.2.
