U.S. Net International Investment Position
Third Quarter 2018
The U.S. net international investment position—the value of U.S. assets less the value of U.S. liabilities—decreased to −$9,627.2 billion (preliminary) at the end of the third quarter of 2018 from −$8,845.1 billion (revised) at the end of the second quarter (chart 1). The $782.1 billion decrease in the net investment position reflected net financial transactions of −$24.6 billion and net other changes in position, such as price and exchange-rate changes, of −$757.5 billion (table A).
The U.S. international investment position is a statistical balance sheet that presents the dollar value of U.S. external financial assets and liabilities at a specific point in time. The negative net investment position represents a U.S. net liability to the rest of the world.
Highlights
- The net investment position decreased 8.8 percent in the third quarter, compared with a decrease of 14.2 percent in the second quarter and an average quarterly decrease of 4.4 percent from the first quarter of 2011 through the first quarter of 2018.
- U.S. assets increased $135.5 billion to $27,150.7 billion, reflecting increases in portfolio investment assets and direct investment assets that were partly offset by decreases in financial derivatives, other investment assets, and reserve assets.
- U.S. liabilities increased $917.6 billion to $36,777.9 billion, reflecting increases in all major categories of liabilities, except financial derivatives.
[Click chart to expand]
| Type of investment | Position, 2018:II | Change in position in 2018:III | Position, 2018:III | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Attributable to: | ||||
| Financial transactions | Other changes in position 1 | ||||
| U.S. net international investment position | −8,845.1 | −782.1 | −24.6 | −757.5 | −9,627.2 |
| Net position excluding financial derivatives | −8,907.7 | −776.7 | −12.4 | −764.3 | −9,684.4 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves, net 2 | 62.6 | −5.4 | −12.3 | 6.9 | 57.2 |
| U.S. assets | 27,015.2 | 135.5 | (2) | (2) | 27,150.7 |
| Assets excluding financial derivatives | 25,436.7 | 214.7 | 141.9 | 72.8 | 25,651.5 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,578.5 | −79.3 | (2) | (2) | 1,499.2 |
| U.S. liabilities | 35,860.3 | 917.6 | (2) | (2) | 36,777.9 |
| Liabilities excluding financial derivatives | 34,344.4 | 991.4 | 154.3 | 837.1 | 35,335.9 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,515.9 | −73.9 | (2) | (2) | 1,442.0 |
Note. The statistics on positions are presented in table 1.2 of the international investment position (IIP) accounts on BEA’s website. The statistics on financial transactions are not seasonally adjusted and are presented in table 1.2 of the international transactions accounts (ITAs) on BEA’s website.
- 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.
U.S. assets increased $135.5 billion to $27,150.7 billion at the end of the third quarter, reflecting increases in portfolio investment assets and direct investment assets that were partly offset by decreases in financial derivatives, other investment assets, and reserve assets (table B, chart 2).
- Assets excluding financial derivatives increased $214.7 billion to $25,651.5 billion. The increase resulted from financial transactions of $141.9 billion and other changes in position of $72.8 billion.
- Financial transactions mostly reflected net U.S. acquisition of direct investment assets and net U.S. purchases of foreign securities. The net U.S. acquisition of direct investment assets followed two quarters of net U.S. withdrawal of assets. For more information, see the box “Effects of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on U.S. Direct Investment Assets.”
- Other changes in position reflected foreign stock price increases that raised the equity value of portfolio investment and direct investment assets. These price increases were partly offset by decreases from exchange-rate changes, as several major foreign currencies depreciated against the U.S. dollar, lowering the value of foreign-currency-denominated assets in dollar terms.
- Financial derivatives decreased $79.3 billion to $1,499.2 billion, reflecting decreases in single-currency interest rate contracts and foreign exchange contracts.
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| Type of investment | Position, 2018:II | Change in position in 2018:III | Position, 2018:III | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Attributable to: | ||||
| Financial transactions | Other changes in position 1 | ||||
| U.S. assets | 27,015.2 | 135.5 | (2) | (2) | 27,150.7 |
| Assets excluding financial derivatives | 25,436.7 | 214.7 | 141.9 | 72.8 | 25,651.5 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,578.5 | −79.3 | (2) | (2) | 1,499.2 |
| By functional category: | |||||
| Direct investment at market value | 8,380.0 | 88.6 | 86.1 | 2.5 | 8,468.6 |
| Equity | 7,132.3 | 77.4 | 80.8 | −3.4 | 7,209.7 |
| Debt instruments | 1,247.7 | 11.1 | 5.3 | 5.8 | 1,258.8 |
| Portfolio investment | 12,390.2 | 168.6 | 72.6 | 96.1 | 12,558.8 |
| Equity and investment fund shares | 8,864.1 | 137.8 | 35.0 | 102.7 | 9,001.8 |
| Debt securities | 3,526.1 | 30.9 | 37.6 | −6.7 | 3,557.0 |
| Short term | 679.7 | 20.2 | 21.6 | −1.3 | 699.9 |
| Long term | 2,846.4 | 10.6 | 16.0 | −5.4 | 2,857.0 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,578.5 | −79.3 | (2) | (2) | 1,499.2 |
| Over-the-counter contracts | 1,514.3 | −78.4 | (2) | (2) | 1,435.9 |
| Single-currency interest rate contracts | 1,019.3 | −60.8 | (2) | (2) | 958.5 |
| Foreign exchange contracts | 334.8 | −33.1 | (2) | (2) | 301.8 |
| Other contracts | 160.1 | 15.5 | (2) | (2) | 175.6 |
| Exchange-traded contracts | 64.2 | −0.9 | (2) | (2) | 63.3 |
| Other investment | 4,225.6 | −24.6 | −16.6 | −8.0 | 4,201.1 |
| Currency and deposits | 1,795.3 | 7.5 | 12.8 | −5.3 | 1,802.7 |
| Loans | 2,378.3 | −29.8 | −27.2 | −2.6 | 2,348.5 |
| Insurance technical reserves | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Trade credit and advances | 52.1 | −2.2 | −2.2 | (*) | 49.9 |
| Reserve assets | 440.9 | −17.9 | −0.2 | −17.7 | 423.0 |
| Monetary gold | 327.0 | −16.5 | 0.0 | −16.5 | 310.5 |
| Special drawing rights | 51.3 | −0.4 | (*) | −0.4 | 50.9 |
| Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund | 20.5 | −0.5 | −0.3 | −0.2 | 20.0 |
| Other reserve assets | 42.2 | −0.5 | 0.1 | −0.6 | 41.6 |
- n.a.
- Not available
- (*)
- Value between zero and +/− $50 million
Note. The statistics on positions are presented in table 1.2 of the international investment position (IIP) accounts on BEA’s website. The statistics on financial transactions are not seasonally adjusted and are presented in table 1.2 of the international transactions accounts (ITAs) on BEA’s website.
- 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.
U.S. liabilities increased $917.6 billion to $36,777.9 billion at the end of the third quarter, reflecting increases in all major categories of liabilities, except financial derivatives (table C, chart 3).
- Liabilities excluding financial derivatives increased $991.4 billion to $35,335.9 billion. The increase resulted from financial transactions of $154.3 billion and other changes in position of $837.1 billion.
- Financial transactions mostly reflected net U.S. incurrence of direct investment liabilities.
- Other changes in position were driven by U.S. stock price increases that raised the equity value of direct investment and portfolio investment liabilities.
- Financial derivatives decreased $73.9 billion to $1,442.0 billion, reflecting decreases in single-currency interest rate contracts and foreign exchange contracts.
[Click chart to expand]
| Type of investment | Position, 2018:II | Change in position in 2018:III | Position, 2018:III | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Attributable to: | ||||
| Financial transactions | Other changes in position 1 | ||||
| U.S. liabilities | 35,860.3 | 917.6 | (2) | (2) | 36,777.9 |
| Liabilities excluding financial derivatives | 34,344.4 | 991.4 | 154.3 | 837.1 | 35,335.9 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,515.9 | −73.9 | (2) | (2) | 1,442.0 |
| By functional category: | |||||
| Direct investment at market value | 9,011.8 | 579.3 | 124.9 | 454.4 | 9,591.1 |
| Equity | 7,270.7 | 579.7 | 120.0 | 459.7 | 7,850.5 |
| Debt instruments | 1,741.0 | −0.4 | 4.9 | −5.3 | 1,740.6 |
| Portfolio investment | 19,483.0 | 399.9 | 12.5 | 387.5 | 19,882.9 |
| Equity and investment fund shares | 8,189.7 | 373.5 | −95.6 | 469.1 | 8,563.2 |
| Debt securities | 11,293.3 | 26.4 | 108.1 | −81.7 | 11,319.7 |
| Short term | 1,025.1 | −52.7 | −52.5 | −0.1 | 972.4 |
| Long term | 10,268.2 | 79.1 | 160.6 | −81.5 | 10,347.3 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,515.9 | −73.9 | (2) | (2) | 1,442.0 |
| Over-the-counter contracts | 1,456.3 | −70.7 | (2) | (2) | 1,385.6 |
| Single-currency interest rate contracts | 980.3 | −62.9 | (2) | (2) | 917.4 |
| Foreign exchange contracts | 317.3 | −26.6 | (2) | (2) | 290.7 |
| Other contracts | 158.7 | 18.8 | (2) | (2) | 177.5 |
| Exchange-traded contracts | 59.6 | −3.2 | (2) | (2) | 56.4 |
| Other investment | 5,849.7 | 12.2 | 16.9 | −4.8 | 5,861.9 |
| Currency and deposits | 3,161.2 | −7.1 | −6.7 | −0.4 | 3,154.1 |
| Loans | 2,441.1 | 17.4 | 21.3 | −3.9 | 2,458.4 |
| Insurance technical reserves | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Trade credit and advances | 197.8 | 2.3 | 2.3 | (*) | 200.1 |
| Special drawing rights allocations | 49.7 | −0.4 | 0.0 | −0.4 | 49.3 |
- n.a.
- Not available
- (*)
- Value between zero and +/− $50 million
Note. The statistics on positions are presented in table 1.2 of the international investment position (IIP) accounts on BEA’s website. The statistics on financial transactions are not seasonally adjusted and are presented in table 1.2 of the international transactions accounts (ITAs) on BEA’s website.
- 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.
The U.S. net international investment position statistics for the second quarter of 2018 have been updated to incorporate newly available and revised source data (table D).
| Preliminary estimate | Revised estimate | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. net international investment position | −8,638.5 | −8,845.1 |
| U.S. assets | 27,063.6 | 27,015.2 |
| Direct investment at market value | 8,441.5 | 8,380.0 |
| Portfolio investment | 12,382.1 | 12,390.2 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,578.5 | 1,578.5 |
| Other investment | 4,220.6 | 4,225.6 |
| Reserve assets | 440.9 | 440.9 |
| U.S. liabilities | 35,702.1 | 35,860.3 |
| Direct investment at market value | 9,018.5 | 9,011.8 |
| Portfolio investment | 19,480.7 | 19,483.0 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 1,515.9 | 1,515.9 |
| Other investment | 5,687.0 | 5,849.7 |
