U.S. International Investment Position

By Erin Whitaker  |  Volume 100, Number 10  |  October 20, 2020

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The U.S. net international investment position—the difference between U.S. residents’ foreign financial assets and liabilities—was −$13.05 trillion at the end of the second quarter of 2020 (chart 1). Assets totaled $28.87 trillion, and liabilities were $41.92 trillion. At the end of the first quarter, the net investment position was −$12.16 trillion.

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. A negative net investment position represents a U.S. net liability to the rest of the world.

The −$882.6 billion change in the net investment position from the first quarter to the second quarter came from net financial transactions of −$77.5 billion and net other changes in position, such as price and exchange rate changes, of −$805.1 billion (table A).

Chart 1. U.S. Net International Investment Position, line chart

[Click chart to expand]

 

 

Table A. Quarterly Change in the U.S. Net International Investment Position
[Billions of dollars, not seasonally adjusted]
Type of investment Position, 2020 Q1 Change in position in 2020 Q2 Position, 2020 Q2
Total Attributable to:
Financial transactions Other changes in position1
U.S. net international investment position −12,163.3 −882.6 −77.5 −805.1 −13,045.9
Net position excluding financial derivatives −12,197.0 −871.1 −137.8 −733.3 −13,068.1
Financial derivatives other than reserves, net2 33.7 −11.5 60.3 −71.7 22.2
U.S. assets 26,921.3 1,951.5 (2) (2) 28,872.8
Assets excluding financial derivatives 23,925.2 2,196.8 −141.1 2,337.9 26,122.0
Financial derivatives other than reserves 2,996.1 −245.3 (2) (2) 2,750.8
By functional category:          
Direct investment at market value 7,003.7 938.8 42.4 896.4 7,942.5
Equity 5,728.7 960.0 62.2 897.8 6,688.7
Debt instruments 1,275.0 −21.3 −19.9 −1.4 1,253.8
Portfolio investment 11,001.2 1,391.1 −29.8 1,420.9 12,392.3
Equity and investment fund shares 7,370.8 1,174.8 −67.7 1,242.5 8,545.6
Debt securities 3,630.4 216.3 37.9 178.4 3,846.6
Short term 669.5 −2.7 −3.5 0.8 666.8
Long term 2,960.9 218.9 41.4 177.6 3,179.8
Financial derivatives other than reserves 2,996.1 −245.3 (2) (2) 2,750.8
Over-the-counter contracts 2,908.3 −208.4 (2) (2) 2,699.9
Single-currency interest rate contracts 2,128.7 66.4 (2) (2) 2,195.1
Foreign exchange contracts 481.3 −165.7 (2) (2) 315.6
Other contracts 298.2 −109.1 (2) (2) 189.1
Exchange-traded contracts 87.8 −36.9 (2) (2) 50.9
Other investment 5,382.8 −180.6 −158.6 −22.0 5,202.1
Other equity 69.3 (*) (*) 0.0 69.3
Currency and deposits 2,534.3 −148.1 −156.8 8.7 2,386.3
Loans 2,730.6 −27.4 3.4 −30.8 2,703.1
Insurance technical reserves n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Trade credit and advances 48.6 −5.1 −5.2 0.1 43.4
Reserve assets 537.5 47.6 5.0 42.7 585.1
Monetary gold 420.7 41.6 0.0 41.6 462.4
Special drawing rights 50.1 0.4 (*) 0.4 50.6
Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund 25.5 5.1 4.9 0.2 30.6
Other reserve assets 41.1 0.4 (*) 0.4 41.5
U.S. liabilities 39,084.5 2,834.1 (2) (2) 41,918.6
Liabilities excluding financial derivatives 36,122.1 3,067.9 −3.3 3,071.3 39,190.1
Financial derivatives other than reserves 2,962.4 −233.8 (2) (2) 2,728.6
By functional category:          
Direct investment at market value 8,762.1 1,335.1 −7.1 1,342.1 10,097.2
Equity 6,999.0 1,405.3 27.8 1,377.5 8,404.3
Debt instruments 1,763.1 −70.2 −34.9 −35.4 1,692.9
Portfolio investment 19,933.7 2,099.6 339.0 1,760.7 22,033.3
Equity and investment fund shares 7,649.0 1,553.6 66.5 1,487.1 9,202.6
Debt securities 12,284.7 546.0 272.5 273.5 12,830.7
Short term 936.0 337.8 337.6 0.2 1,273.8
Long term 11,348.7 208.2 −65.1 273.4 11,556.9
Financial derivatives other than reserves 2,962.4 −233.8 (2) (2) 2,728.6
Over-the-counter contracts 2,875.3 −196.7 (2) (2) 2,678.6
Single-currency interest rate contracts 2,129.5 42.1 (2) (2) 2,171.6
Foreign exchange contracts 470.2 −152.1 (2) (2) 318.1
Other contracts 275.6 −86.7 (2) (2) 188.9
Exchange-traded contracts 87.1 −37.1 (2) (2) 49.9
Other investment 7,426.3 −366.8 −335.2 −31.5 7,059.6
Other equity n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Currency and deposits 3,959.4 −240.0 −242.5 2.6 3,719.4
Loans 3,212.1 −128.7 −94.2 −34.5 3,083.4
Insurance technical reserves n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Trade credit and advances 206.7 1.5 1.5 0.1 208.2
Special drawing rights allocations 48.2 0.4 0.0 0.4 48.6
n.a.
Not available
(*)
Value between zero and +/− $50 million
  1. 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.
  2. 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 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 on BEA's website.

U.S. assets increased by $1.95 trillion, to a total of $28.87 trillion, at the end of the second quarter, mostly reflecting increases in portfolio investment and direct investment assets that were partly offset by decreases in financial derivatives and other investment assets (chart 2). Portfolio investment assets increased by $1.39 trillion, to $12.39 trillion, and direct investment assets increased by $938.8 billion, to $7.94 trillion, driven mainly by increases in foreign stock prices that raised the value of these assets. Global stock prices recovered from the decreases that occurred in the first quarter at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other changes in position drove the overall increase in U.S. assets (table A).

Chart 2. U.S. Assets, line chart

[Click chart to expand]

U.S. liabilities increased by $2.83 trillion, to a total of $41.92 trillion, at the end of the second quarter, mostly reflecting increases in portfolio investment and direct investment liabilities that were partly offset by decreases in other investment liabilities and financial derivatives (chart 3). Portfolio investment liabilities increased by $2.10 trillion, to $22.03 trillion, and direct investment liabilities increased by $1.34 trillion, to $10.10 trillion, driven mainly by increases in U.S. stock prices that raised the value of these liabilities.

Other changes in position drove the overall increase in U.S. liabilities (table A).

Chart 3. U.S. Liabilities, line chart

[Click chart to expand]

The U.S. international investment position statistics for the first quarter of 2020 have been updated to incorporate newly available and revised source data (table B).

Table B. Updates to First-Quarter 2020 International Investment Position Aggregates
[Billions of dollars, not seasonally adjusted]
Type of investment Preliminary estimate Revised estimate
U.S. net international investment position −12,057.5 −12,163.3
U.S. assets 26,767.1 26,921.3
Direct investment at market value 6,982.0 7,003.7
Portfolio investment 10,987.4 11,001.2
Financial derivatives other than reserves 3,000.5 2,996.1
Other investment 5,259.7 5,382.8
Reserve assets 537.5 537.5
U.S. liabilities 38,824.6 39,084.5
Direct investment at market value 8,769.8 8,762.1
Portfolio investment 19,778.4 19,933.7
Financial derivatives other than reserves 2,965.2 2,962.4
Other investment 7,311.2 7,426.3