U.S. International Investment Position
Second Quarter 2021
The U.S. net international investment position—the difference between U.S. residents' foreign financial assets and liabilities—was −$15.42 trillion at the end of the second quarter of 2021 (chart 1). Assets totaled $34.20 trillion, and liabilities were $49.62 trillion. At the end of the first quarter, the net investment position was −$14.30 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. A negative net investment position represents a U.S. net liability to the rest of the world.
The −$1.12 trillion change in the net investment position from the first quarter to the second quarter came from net financial transactions of −$277.6 billion and net other changes in position, such as price and exchange rate changes, of −$841.4 billion that mostly reflected U.S. stock price increases that exceeded foreign stock price increases (table A).
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| Type of investment | End of quarter position, 2021:Q1 | Change in position in 2021:Q2 | End of quarter position, 2021:Q2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Attributable to: | ||||
| Financial transactions | Other changes in position1 | ||||
| U.S. net international investment position | −14,300.5 | −1,119.1 | −277.6 | −841.4 | −15,419.6 |
| Net position excluding financial derivatives | −14,333.6 | −1,123.8 | −269.0 | −854.8 | −15,457.5 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves, net2 | 33.1 | 4.8 | −8.6 | 13.4 | 37.9 |
| U.S. assets | 32,838.0 | 1,358.0 | (2) | (2) | 34,196.0 |
| Assets excluding financial derivatives | 30,679.1 | 1,410.8 | 259.3 | 1,151.4 | 32,089.8 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,158.9 | −52.8 | (2) | (2) | 2,106.1 |
| By functional category: | |||||
| Direct investment at market value | 9,892.2 | 656.4 | 150.8 | 505.7 | 10,548.6 |
| Equity | 8,668.8 | 652.4 | 135.2 | 517.3 | 9,321.3 |
| Debt instruments | 1,223.4 | 4.0 | 15.6 | −11.6 | 1,227.4 |
| Portfolio investment | 15,146.8 | 755.8 | 134.8 | 621.0 | 15,902.6 |
| Equity and investment fund shares | 11,043.2 | 690.2 | 116.6 | 573.6 | 11,733.4 |
| Debt securities | 4,103.6 | 65.6 | 18.2 | 47.5 | 4,169.2 |
| Short term | 755.2 | 20.1 | 19.5 | 0.5 | 775.3 |
| Long term | 3,348.4 | 45.6 | −1.3 | 46.9 | 3,393.9 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,158.9 | −52.8 | (2) | (2) | 2,106.1 |
| Over-the-counter contracts | 2,098.5 | −55.1 | (2) | (2) | 2,043.4 |
| Single-currency interest rate contracts | 1,524.9 | −19.7 | (2) | (2) | 1,505.2 |
| Foreign exchange contracts | 357.9 | −59.7 | (2) | (2) | 298.2 |
| Other contracts | 215.8 | 24.3 | (2) | (2) | 240.1 |
| Exchange-traded contracts | 60.4 | 2.4 | (2) | (2) | 62.7 |
| Other investment | 5,070.0 | −21.6 | −26.7 | 5.2 | 5,048.4 |
| Other equity | 71.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 71.1 |
| Currency and deposits | 2,170.2 | −74.1 | −77.3 | 3.3 | 2,096.1 |
| Loans | 2,779.4 | 55.4 | 53.6 | 1.9 | 2,834.8 |
| Insurance technical reserves | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Trade credit and advances | 49.3 | −2.9 | −3.0 | 0.1 | 46.4 |
| Reserve assets | 570.1 | 20.0 | 0.5 | 19.6 | 590.1 |
| Monetary gold | 442.2 | 18.9 | 0.0 | 18.9 | 461.1 |
| Special drawing rights | 52.1 | 0.3 | (*) | 0.3 | 52.4 |
| Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund | 33.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 34.3 |
| Other reserve assets | 42.1 | 0.2 | (*) | 0.1 | 42.3 |
| U.S. liabilities | 47,138.5 | 2,477.0 | (2) | (2) | 49,615.6 |
| Liabilities excluding financial derivatives | 45,012.7 | 2,534.6 | 528.3 | 2,006.2 | 47,547.3 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,125.8 | −57.5 | (2) | (2) | 2,068.3 |
| By functional category: | |||||
| Direct investment at market value | 12,562.5 | 927.2 | 96.4 | 830.8 | 13,489.7 |
| Equity | 10,873.0 | 918.8 | 86.3 | 832.5 | 11,791.8 |
| Debt instruments | 1,689.6 | 8.3 | 10.1 | −1.7 | 1,697.9 |
| Portfolio investment | 25,179.3 | 1,408.7 | 236.6 | 1,172.1 | 26,588.0 |
| Equity and investment fund shares | 12,374.7 | 997.4 | −15.7 | 1,013.1 | 13,372.1 |
| Debt securities | 12,804.6 | 411.3 | 252.3 | 159.0 | 13,215.9 |
| Short term | 1,171.2 | −27.7 | −27.8 | 0.1 | 1,143.6 |
| Long term | 11,633.4 | 439.0 | 280.0 | 158.9 | 12,072.4 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,125.8 | −57.5 | (2) | (2) | 2,068.3 |
| Over-the-counter contracts | 2,069.3 | −63.8 | (2) | (2) | 2,005.5 |
| Single-currency interest rate contracts | 1,500.5 | −20.5 | (2) | (2) | 1,480.0 |
| Foreign exchange contracts | 340.5 | −59.0 | (2) | (2) | 281.4 |
| Other contracts | 228.3 | 15.8 | (2) | (2) | 244.0 |
| Exchange-traded contracts | 56.6 | 6.3 | (2) | (2) | 62.8 |
| Other investment | 7,270.8 | 198.7 | 195.4 | 3.3 | 7,469.5 |
| Other equity | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Currency and deposits | 3,893.6 | 65.6 | 65.1 | 0.5 | 3,959.2 |
| Loans | 3,106.2 | 129.8 | 127.3 | 2.5 | 3,236.0 |
| Insurance technical reserves | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Trade credit and advances | 220.9 | 3.0 | 3.0 | (*) | 224.0 |
| Special drawing rights allocations | 50.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 50.4 |
- n.a.
- Not available
- (*)
- Value between zero and +/− $50 million
- Disaggregation of other changes in position into price changes, exchange-rate changes, and other changes in volume and valuation is presented for annual statistics released in June each year.
- Financial transactions and other changes in financial derivatives positions are available on a net basis; they are not separately available for U.S. assets and U.S. liabilities.
U.S. assets increased by $1.36 trillion, to a total of $34.20 trillion at the end of the second quarter, mostly reflecting increases in portfolio investment and direct investment assets (chart 2). Portfolio investment assets increased by $755.8 billion, to $15.90 trillion, and direct investment assets increased by $656.4 billion, to $10.55 trillion, driven mainly by increases in foreign stock prices that raised the value of these assets.
Both financial transactions and other changes in position contributed to the overall increase in U.S. assets (table A).
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U.S. liabilities increased by $2.48 trillion, to a total of $49.62 trillion at the end of the second quarter, mostly reflecting increases in portfolio investment and direct investment liabilities (chart 3). Portfolio investment liabilities increased by $1.41 trillion, to $26.59 trillion, and direct investment liabilities increased by $927.2 billion, to $13.49 trillion, driven mainly by increases in U.S. stock prices that raised the value of these liabilities.
Both financial transactions and other changes in position contributed to the overall increase in U.S. liabilities (table A).
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The U.S. international investment position statistics for the first quarter of 2021 have been updated to incorporate newly available and revised source data (table B).
| Preliminary estimate | Revised estimate | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. net international investment position | −14,320.3 | −14,300.5 |
| U.S. assets | 32,811.8 | 32,838.0 |
| Direct investment at market value | 9,889.9 | 9,892.2 |
| Portfolio investment | 15,133.9 | 15,146.8 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,158.8 | 2,158.9 |
| Other investment | 5,059.2 | 5,070.0 |
| Reserve assets | 570.1 | 570.1 |
| U.S. liabilities | 47,132.1 | 47,138.5 |
| Direct investment at market value | 12,571.6 | 12,562.5 |
| Portfolio investment | 25,180.6 | 25,179.3 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,125.3 | 2,125.8 |
| Other investment | 7,254.6 | 7,270.8 |
