A Look at the U.S. International Investment Position
Third Quarter of 2023
The U.S. net international investment position, the difference between U.S. residents' foreign financial assets and liabilities, was −$18.16 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2023 (chart 1). Assets totaled $32.91 trillion, and liabilities were $51.07 trillion. At the end of the second quarter, the net investment position was −$18.14 trillion (revised). The net investment position 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 −$15.5 billion change in the net investment position from the second quarter to the third quarter came from net financial transactions of −$121.9 billion and net other changes in position, such as price and exchange-rate changes, of $106.4 billion (table A).
U.S. assets decreased by $606.6 billion to a total of $32.91 trillion at the end of the third quarter, reflecting decreases in direct investment and portfolio investment assets that were partly offset by increases in other investment assets and financial derivatives.
Direct investment assets decreased by $449.1 billion to $9.84 trillion and portfolio investment assets decreased by $388.2 billion to $14.42 trillion, driven mainly by foreign stock price decreases and the depreciation of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar that lowered the market value of these assets in dollar terms (chart 2).
In contrast, other investment assets increased by $143.9 billion to $5.34 trillion, driven by increases in loans. Financial derivatives increased by $100.7 billion to $2.58 trillion, driven by increases in single-currency interest rate contracts and foreign exchange contracts.
Exchange-rate changes and price changes, components of other changes in position, drove the overall decrease in U.S. assets (table A).
U.S. liabilities decreased by $591.1 billion to a total of $51.07 trillion at the end of the third quarter, reflecting decreases in direct investment and portfolio investment liabilities that were partly offset by increases in other investment liabilities and financial derivatives.
Direct investment liabilities decreased by $436.6 billion to $13.58 trillion and portfolio investment liabilities decreased by $386.5 billion to $26.52 trillion, driven mainly by U.S. stock price decreases that lowered the market value of these liabilities; U.S. bond price decreases also contributed to the decrease in portfolio investment liabilities (chart 3).
In contrast, other investment liabilities increased by $166.9 billion to $8.45 trillion, driven by increases in loans. Financial derivatives increased by $65.0 billion to $2.52 trillion, driven by increases in single-currency interest rate contracts and foreign exchange contracts.
Price changes, a component of other changes in position, drove the overall decrease in U.S. liabilities (table A).
| Type of investment | End of quarter position, 2023:Q2 | Change in position in 2023:Q3 | End of quarter position, 2023:Q3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Attributable to: | ||||
| Financial transactions | Other changes in position1 | ||||
| U.S. net international investment position | −18,144.7 | −15.5 | −121.9 | 106.4 | −18,160.1 |
| Net position excluding financial derivatives | −18,172.3 | −51.1 | −122.9 | 71.8 | −18,223.4 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves, net2 | 27.7 | 35.7 | 1.1 | 34.6 | 63.3 |
| U.S. assets | 33,511.9 | −606.6 | (2) | (2) | 32,905.3 |
| Assets excluding financial derivatives | 31,029.1 | −707.3 | 341.0 | −1,048.3 | 30,321.8 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,482.8 | 100.7 | (2) | (2) | 2,583.5 |
| By functional category: | |||||
| Direct investment at market value | 10,293.4 | −449.1 | 119.3 | −568.4 | 9,844.3 |
| Equity | 9,044.8 | −468.1 | 101.3 | −569.4 | 8,576.7 |
| Debt instruments | 1,248.6 | 19.0 | 18.0 | 1.0 | 1,267.6 |
| Portfolio investment | 14,804.6 | −388.2 | 47.2 | −435.3 | 14,416.5 |
| Equity and investment fund shares | 11,016.1 | −312.8 | 29.0 | −341.8 | 10,703.2 |
| Debt securities | 3,788.6 | −75.3 | 18.2 | −93.5 | 3,713.3 |
| Short term | 458.3 | 11.4 | 13.7 | −2.3 | 469.7 |
| Long term | 3,330.3 | −86.7 | 4.5 | −91.3 | 3,243.5 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,482.8 | 100.7 | (2) | (2) | 2,583.5 |
| Over-the-counter contracts | 2,418.0 | 102.4 | (2) | (2) | 2,520.4 |
| Single-currency interest rate contracts | 1,873.0 | 77.6 | (2) | (2) | 1,950.7 |
| Foreign exchange contracts | 374.4 | 34.1 | (2) | (2) | 408.5 |
| Other contracts | 170.6 | −9.3 | (2) | (2) | 161.3 |
| Exchange-traded contracts | 64.8 | −1.7 | (2) | (2) | 63.2 |
| Other investment | 5,198.1 | 143.9 | 174.2 | −30.3 | 5,342.0 |
| Other equity | 75.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 75.3 |
| Currency and deposits | 2,139.5 | 6.6 | 24.2 | −17.6 | 2,146.1 |
| Loans | 2,947.5 | 135.3 | 147.9 | −12.7 | 3,082.8 |
| Insurance technical reserves | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Trade credit and advances | 35.8 | 2.0 | 2.1 | −0.1 | 37.8 |
| Reserve assets | 732.9 | −13.9 | 0.4 | −14.3 | 719.0 |
| Monetary gold | 500.1 | −10.9 | 0.0 | −10.9 | 489.1 |
| Special drawing rights | 162.2 | −0.1 | 1.7 | −1.9 | 162.1 |
| Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund | 34.1 | −1.8 | −1.5 | −0.4 | 32.3 |
| Other reserve assets | 36.5 | −1.0 | 0.2 | −1.2 | 35.5 |
| U.S. liabilities | 51,656.6 | −591.1 | (2) | (2) | 51,065.4 |
| Liabilities excluding financial derivatives | 49,201.4 | −656.2 | 464.0 | −1,120.1 | 48,545.2 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,455.2 | 65.0 | (2) | (2) | 2,520.2 |
| By functional category: | |||||
| Direct investment at market value | 14,012.1 | −436.6 | 81.8 | −518.3 | 13,575.5 |
| Equity | 12,186.9 | −459.9 | 71.6 | −531.5 | 11,727.0 |
| Debt instruments | 1,825.1 | 23.4 | 10.2 | 13.1 | 1,848.5 |
| Portfolio investment | 26,910.7 | −386.5 | 193.1 | −579.6 | 26,524.2 |
| Equity and investment fund shares | 13,697.2 | −323.4 | 3.9 | −327.3 | 13,373.8 |
| Debt securities | 13,213.5 | −63.1 | 189.2 | −252.3 | 13,150.5 |
| Short term | 1,255.8 | 88.3 | 88.6 | −0.3 | 1,344.1 |
| Long term | 11,957.7 | −151.3 | 100.6 | −252.0 | 11,806.4 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,455.2 | 65.0 | (2) | (2) | 2,520.2 |
| Over-the-counter contracts | 2,390.3 | 69.3 | (2) | (2) | 2,459.6 |
| Single-currency interest rate contracts | 1,842.1 | 61.8 | (2) | (2) | 1,903.9 |
| Foreign exchange contracts | 368.3 | 16.0 | (2) | (2) | 384.3 |
| Other contracts | 179.9 | −8.5 | (2) | (2) | 171.4 |
| Exchange-traded contracts | 64.9 | −4.3 | (2) | (2) | 60.6 |
| Other investment | 8,278.6 | 166.9 | 189.1 | −22.2 | 8,445.5 |
| Other equity | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Currency and deposits | 4,318.8 | 22.3 | 27.3 | −5.0 | 4,341.1 |
| Loans | 3,547.2 | 139.4 | 154.7 | −15.4 | 3,686.5 |
| Insurance technical reserves | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Trade credit and advances | 259.8 | 7.0 | 7.1 | −0.1 | 266.8 |
| Special drawing rights allocations | 152.8 | −1.7 | 0.0 | −1.7 | 151.0 |
- n.a.
- Not available
- 0.0
- Transactions or other changes are possible but are zero for a given period.
- 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 U.S. 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.
The U.S. international investment position statistics for the second quarter of 2023 have been updated to incorporate newly available and revised source data (table B).
| Preliminary estimate | Revised estimate | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. net international investment position | −17,997.7 | −18,144.7 |
| U.S. assets | 33,578.2 | 33,511.9 |
| Direct investment at market value | 10,304.6 | 10,293.4 |
| Portfolio investment | 14,827.0 | 14,804.6 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,482.8 | 2,482.8 |
| Other investment | 5,230.8 | 5,198.1 |
| Reserve assets | 732.9 | 732.9 |
| U.S. liabilities | 51,575.9 | 51,656.6 |
| Direct investment at market value | 14,001.8 | 14,012.1 |
| Portfolio investment | 26,814.5 | 26,910.7 |
| Financial derivatives other than reserves | 2,455.2 | 2,455.2 |
| Other investment | 8,304.4 | 8,278.6 |
