U.S. International Investment Position
Third Quarter 2021
The U.S. net international investment position (IIP)—the difference between U.S. residents' foreign financial assets and liabilities—was −$16.07 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2021 (chart 1). Assets totaled $34.45 trillion, and liabilities were $50.53 trillion. At the end of the second quarter, the net investment position was −$15.91 trillion. The net investment positions and components of assets and liabilities are presented in 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. A negative net investment position represents a U.S. net liability to the rest of the world.
The −$165.1 billion change in the net investment position from the second quarter to the third quarter came from net financial transactions of −$114.0 billion and net other changes in position, such as price and exchange-rate changes, of −$51.1 billion that mostly reflected the depreciation of major foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar that lowered the value of U.S. assets in dollar terms (table A).
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| Type of investment | End of quarter position, 2021:Q2 | Change in position in 2021:Q3 | End of quarter position, 2021:Q3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Attributable to: | ||||
| Financial transactions | Other changes in position1 | ||||
| U.S. net international investment position | −15,906.0 | −165.1 | −114.0 | −51.1 | −16,071.1 |
| Net position excluding financial derivatives | −15,943.9 | −160.7 | −106.0 | −54.7 | −16,104.5 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves, net2 | 37.9 | −4.4 | −8.0 | 3.6 | 33.5 |
| U.S. assets | 34,273.3 | 181.2 | (2) | (2) | 34,454.6 |
| Assets excluding financial derivatives | 32,167.2 | 240.9 | 511.2 | −270.3 | 32,408.1 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,106.1 | −59.7 | (2) | (2) | 2,046.5 |
| By functional category: | |||||
| Direct investment at market value | 10,563.1 | −20.5 | 115.4 | −135.9 | 10,542.6 |
| Equity | 9,316.8 | −36.5 | 104.0 | −140.5 | 9,280.3 |
| Debt instruments | 1,246.3 | 16.0 | 11.4 | 4.5 | 1,262.3 |
| Portfolio investment | 15,969.7 | 194.3 | 311.7 | −117.5 | 16,164.0 |
| Equity and investment fund shares | 11,793.4 | −13.1 | 119.6 | −132.7 | 11,780.3 |
| Debt securities | 4,176.3 | 207.4 | 192.1 | 15.3 | 4,383.7 |
| Short term | 754.4 | 19.3 | 20.6 | −1.4 | 773.7 |
| Long term | 3,421.9 | 188.1 | 171.5 | 16.6 | 3,610.0 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,106.1 | −59.7 | (2) | (2) | 2,046.5 |
| Over-the-counter contracts | 2,043.4 | −73.4 | (2) | (2) | 1,970.0 |
| Single-currency interest rate contracts | 1,505.2 | −100.6 | (2) | (2) | 1,404.5 |
| Foreign exchange contracts | 298.2 | 8.0 | (2) | (2) | 306.2 |
| Other contracts | 240.1 | 19.2 | (2) | (2) | 259.3 |
| Exchange-traded contracts | 62.7 | 13.8 | (2) | (2) | 76.5 |
| Other investment | 5,044.2 | −37.9 | −28.5 | −9.4 | 5,006.4 |
| Other equity | 71.1 | (*) | (*) | 0.0 | 71.1 |
| Currency and deposits | 2,091.0 | −26.9 | −25.2 | −1.6 | 2,064.1 |
| Loans | 2,835.8 | −9.9 | −2.3 | −7.6 | 2,825.9 |
| Insurance technical reserves | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Trade credit and advances | 46.4 | −1.1 | −1.0 | −0.1 | 45.3 |
| Reserve assets | 590.1 | 105.0 | 112.6 | −7.6 | 695.1 |
| Monetary gold | 461.1 | −5.3 | 0.0 | −5.3 | 455.7 |
| Special drawing rights | 52.4 | 111.4 | 112.8 | −1.4 | 163.9 |
| Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund | 34.3 | −0.4 | (*) | −0.4 | 33.9 |
| Other reserve assets | 42.3 | −0.7 | −0.2 | −0.4 | 41.6 |
| U.S. liabilities | 50,179.3 | 346.3 | (2) | (2) | 50,525.6 |
| Liabilities excluding financial derivatives | 48,111.1 | 401.6 | 617.2 | −215.7 | 48,512.6 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,068.3 | −55.3 | (2) | (2) | 2,013.0 |
| By functional category: | |||||
| Direct investment at market value | 13,473.2 | 98.4 | 153.1 | −54.7 | 13,571.6 |
| Equity | 11,794.8 | 68.3 | 115.3 | −47.0 | 11,863.1 |
| Debt instruments | 1,678.4 | 30.1 | 37.8 | −7.7 | 1,708.5 |
| Portfolio investment | 27,164.2 | 8.4 | 146.2 | −137.8 | 27,172.7 |
| Equity and investment fund shares | 13,579.1 | 85.6 | 148.8 | −63.3 | 13,664.7 |
| Debt securities | 13,585.1 | −77.2 | −2.6 | −74.5 | 13,508.0 |
| Short term | 1,143.6 | −31.8 | −10.2 | −21.6 | 1,111.7 |
| Long term | 12,441.6 | −45.3 | 7.6 | −52.9 | 12,396.2 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,068.3 | −55.3 | (2) | (2) | 2,013.0 |
| Over-the-counter contracts | 2,005.5 | −67.9 | (2) | (2) | 1,937.5 |
| Single-currency interest rate contracts | 1,480.0 | −91.8 | (2) | (2) | 1,388.3 |
| Foreign exchange contracts | 281.4 | 5.8 | (2) | (2) | 287.2 |
| Other contracts | 244.0 | 18.0 | (2) | (2) | 262.0 |
| Exchange-traded contracts | 62.8 | 12.7 | (2) | (2) | 75.5 |
| Other investment | 7,473.6 | 294.8 | 318.0 | −23.2 | 7,768.4 |
| Other equity | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Currency and deposits | 3,960.8 | 175.0 | 178.1 | −3.1 | 4,135.8 |
| Loans | 3,238.4 | 7.3 | 25.9 | −18.6 | 3,245.8 |
| Insurance technical reserves | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Trade credit and advances | 224.0 | 1.0 | 1.1 | −0.1 | 225.0 |
| Special drawing rights allocations | 50.4 | 111.5 | 112.8 | −1.4 | 161.8 |
- 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 March and revised 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.
Note. The statistics on positions are presented in table 1.2 of the International Investment Position Accounts on the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) 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 $181.2 billion to a total of $34.45 trillion at the end of the third quarter, reflecting increases in portfolio investment and reserve assets (chart 2). Portfolio investment assets increased by $194.3 billion to $16.16 trillion, driven by net U.S. purchases of foreign securities. Reserve assets increased by $105.0 billion to $695.1 billion, reflecting the allocation of $112.8 billion in new special drawing rights (SDRs) in August 2021 to the United States as its share of the $650 billion SDR allocation approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF to supplement its member countries' official reserves and can be exchanged between members for currencies such as the U.S. dollar, the euro, or the yen. The allocation in the third quarter was the largest in the history of the IMF.
Financial transactions drove the overall increase in U.S. assets (table A).
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U.S. liabilities increased by $346.3 billion to a total of $50.53 trillion at the end of the third quarter, mostly reflecting increases in other investment liabilities (chart 3). Other investment liabilities increased by $294.8 billion to $7.77 trillion, reflecting increases in deposit liabilities and in SDR allocation liabilities that represent the U.S. long-term obligation to other IMF member countries holding SDRs. In an SDR allocation, the increase in U.S. liabilities offsets the increase in U.S. assets, so the allocation has no impact on the net international investment position.
Financial transactions drove the overall increase in U.S. liabilities (table A).
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The U.S. international investment position statistics for the second 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 | −15,419.6 | −15,906.0 |
| U.S. assets | 34,196.0 | 34,273.3 |
| Direct investment at market value | 10,548.6 | 10,563.1 |
| Portfolio investment | 15,902.6 | 15,969.7 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,106.1 | 2,106.1 |
| Other investment | 5,048.4 | 5,044.2 |
| Reserve assets | 590.1 | 590.1 |
| U.S. liabilities | 49,615.6 | 50,179.3 |
| Direct investment at market value | 13,489.7 | 13,473.2 |
| Portfolio investment | 26,588.0 | 27,164.2 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,068.3 | 2,068.3 |
| Other investment | 7,469.5 | 7,473.6 |
Releases of new statistics
With the release of the International Investment Position (IIP) Accounts on December 30, 2021, the Bureau of Economic Analysis introduced two new IIP tables—tables 2.2 and 4.1. IIP table 2.2 features annual statistics on direct investment positions in U.S. resident special purpose entities (SPEs), which are U.S. legal entities with little or no employment or physical presence. The increased prevalence of SPEs heightens the need for separate statistics on their activities for analysis and for improved interpretability of macroeconomic statistics. IIP table 4.1 features quarter-end position statistics on U.S. debt positions by currency, sector, and maturity for U.S. assets and liabilities. These statistics will be valuable for assessing U.S. exposure to foreign currency risks and for helping to identify potential future financial crises. The new tables fulfill commitments to the IMF Task Force on Special Purpose Entities and the G–20 Data Gaps Initiative to release these statistics by yearend 2021. For more information, see “New Statistics on U.S. Resident Special Purpose Entities in the International Investment Position Accounts” and “New Statistics on U.S. Debt Positions in the International Investment Position Accounts.”
Accelerating release of annual IIP statistics
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will accelerate the publication of the annual IIP table 1.3 usually released in June each year to March each year. Table 1.3 provides details for the annual change in the IIP, such as financial transactions, price changes, exchange-rate changes, and other changes in volume and valuation. For the upcoming IIP release on March 29, 2022, and for the related article in the April 2022 issue of the Survey of Current Business, BEA will include table 1.3 for 2021, which will also be available in BEA’s Interactive Data Application. The table will subsequently be updated as part of the annual update in June each year.
