A Look at the U.S. International Transactions

First Quarter of 2024

By Elliot Berg  |  July 10, 2024

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The U.S. current-account deficit, which reflects the combined balances on trade in goods and services and income flows between U.S. residents and residents of other countries, widened by $15.9 billion, or 7.2 percent, to $237.6 billion in the first quarter of 2024 (chart 1 and table A). The revised fourth-quarter deficit was $221.8 billion.

The first-quarter deficit was 3.4 percent of current-dollar gross domestic product, up from 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter.

The $15.9 billion widening of the current-account deficit in the first quarter mostly reflected an expanded deficit on goods.

Chart 1. Quarterly U.S. Current-Account Balance and Its Components

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Table A. U.S. International Transactions
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series 2023 2024 Change 2023:Q4 to 2024:Q1
Q1r Q2r Q3r Q4r Q1p
Current account            
Exports of goods and services and income receipts (credits) 1,142,911 1,140,821 1,177,040 1,184,412 1,201,456 17,044
Exports of goods and services 767,632 752,913 774,070 777,201 787,178 9,977
Goods 518,316 497,038 515,998 513,869 516,144 2,275
Services 249,316 255,875 258,072 263,332 271,034 7,702
Primary income receipts 328,098 338,467 355,262 354,894 364,615 9,721
Secondary income (current transfer) receipts 47,181 49,441 47,707 52,317 49,663 −2,654
Imports of goods and services and income payments (debits) 1,373,241 1,373,424 1,397,698 1,406,196 1,439,101 32,905
Imports of goods and services 968,433 956,541 960,531 971,202 991,695 20,493
Goods 785,166 771,030 773,827 778,485 793,871 15,386
Services 183,267 185,511 186,703 192,717 197,824 5,107
Primary income payments 311,356 320,540 338,382 339,413 352,287 12,874
Secondary income (current transfer) payments 93,452 96,342 98,786 95,581 95,119 −462
Capital account            
Capital transfer receipts and other credits 43 7 17 15 44 29
Capital transfer payments and other debits 2,563 1,068 1,011 1,760 1,881 121
Financial account            
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets excluding financial derivatives (net increase in assets / financial outflow (+)) 199,533 209,246 270,003 299,822 321,182 21,360
Direct investment assets 89,192 78,657 119,890 166,346 118,344 −48,002
Portfolio investment assets 18,614 53,042 48,595 −38,689 164,075 202,764
Other investment assets 90,948 77,276 101,118 173,574 36,253 −137,321
Reserve assets 778 272 400 −1,408 2,509 3,917
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities excluding financial derivatives (net increase in liabilities / financial inflow (+)) 585,035 309,433 467,099 525,518 515,595 −9,923
Direct investment liabilities 93,218 88,890 66,740 99,936 81,203 −18,733
Portfolio investment liabilities 349,775 392,385 261,558 227,358 389,473 162,115
Other investment liabilities 142,042 −171,842 138,801 198,223 44,919 −153,304
Financial derivatives other than reserves, net transactions −1,727 −4,741 1,068 −10,242 −2,865 7,377
Statistical discrepancy            
Statistical discrepancy1 −154,379 128,736 25,624 −12,408 42,204 54,612
Balances            
Balance on current account −230,330 −232,603 −220,659 −221,784 −237,645 −15,861
Balance on goods and services −200,801 −203,628 −186,461 −194,001 −204,516 −10,515
Balance on goods −266,851 −273,992 −257,829 −264,616 −277,727 −13,111
Balance on services 66,049 70,364 71,369 70,616 73,210 2,594
Balance on primary income 16,742 17,926 16,880 15,481 12,327 −3,154
Balance on secondary income −46,271 −46,901 −51,078 −43,264 −45,456 −2,192
Balance on capital account −2,520 −1,061 −994 −1,745 −1,837 −92
Net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) from current- and capital-account transactions2 −232,850 −233,664 −221,653 −223,529 −239,482 −15,953
Net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) from financial-account transactions3 −387,229 −104,928 −196,028 −235,937 −197,278 38,659
p
Preliminary
r
Revised
  1. The statistical discrepancy is the difference between net acquisition of financial assets and net incurrence of liabilities in the financial account (including financial derivatives) less the difference between total credits and total debits recorded in the current and capital accounts.
  2. Sum of current- and capital-account balances.
  3. Sum of net U.S. acquisition of financial assets and net transactions in financial derivatives less net U.S. incurrence of liabilities.

Note. The statistics are presented in table 1.2 of the International Transactions Accounts Interactive Data Application on the BEA website.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

 

Exports of goods and services to, and income received from, foreign residents increased $17.0 billion to $1.20 trillion in the first quarter (charts 2 and 3 and tables A and B). Imports of goods and services from, and income paid to, foreign residents increased $32.9 billion to $1.44 trillion (charts 2 and 4 and tables A and C).1

Chart 2. Current-Account Transactions

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Trade in goods

Exports of goods increased $2.3 billion to $516.1 billion, reflecting increases in nonmonetary gold; in capital goods, led by civilian aircraft engines and parts and by computer accessories, peripherals, and parts; and in foods, feeds, and beverages, led by soybeans. These increases in exports of goods were partly offset by a decrease in industrial supplies and materials, led by chemicals. Imports of goods increased $15.4 billion to $793.9 billion, reflecting increases in capital goods, mostly computers; other industrial machinery; and computer accessories, peripherals, and parts; and increases in consumer goods, mostly apparel, footwear, and household goods and medicinal, dental, and pharmaceutical products. These increases in imports were partly offset by a decrease in nonmonetary gold.

Trade in services

Exports of services increased $7.7 billion to $271.0 billion, reflecting increases in financial services, mostly financial management services and financial intermediation services indirectly measured, and in telecommunications, computer, and information services, mostly computer services. Imports of services increased $5.1 billion to $197.8 billion, reflecting increases in transport, mainly air passenger transport, and in other business services, mainly professional and management consulting services.

Primary income

Receipts of primary income increased $9.7 billion to $364.6 billion, and payments of primary income increased $12.9 billion to $352.3 billion. The increases in both receipts and payments reflected increases in most major categories. The increase in receipts was led by direct investment income, mostly earnings. The increase in payments was led by portfolio investment income, mostly interest on long-term debt securities.

Secondary income

Receipts of secondary income decreased $2.7 billion to $49.7 billion, reflecting a decrease in general government transfers, mainly fines and penalties. Payments of secondary income decreased $0.5 billion to $95.1 billion, reflecting a decrease in general government transfers, mainly international cooperation, that was mostly offset by an increase in private transfers, led by taxes on income and wealth.

Chart 3. Percent Change in Exports of Goods and Services and Income Receipts

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Chart 4. Percent Change in Imports of Goods and Services and Income Payments

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Table B. Exports of Goods and Services and Income Receipts
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series 2023 2024 Change 2023:Q4 to 2024:Q1
Q1r Q2r Q3r Q4r Q1p
Exports of goods and services and income receipts 1,142,911 1,140,821 1,177,040 1,184,412 1,201,456 17,044
Exports of goods 518,316 497,038 515,998 513,869 516,144 2,275
General merchandise 510,439 488,336 503,121 504,160 504,681 521
Foods, feeds, and beverages 43,607 38,425 38,782 41,073 42,081 1,008
Industrial supplies and materials 186,382 172,900 177,955 182,322 181,028 −1,294
Energy products 93,073 83,921 90,338 93,557 92,644 −913
Of which: Petroleum and products 74,755 67,669 74,609 77,531 77,290 −241
Nonenergy products 93,309 88,979 87,617 88,765 88,384 −381
Capital goods except automotive 148,213 148,046 152,541 153,835 155,142 1,307
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 43,888 44,897 47,306 43,949 43,183 −766
Consumer goods except food and automotive 67,216 63,708 65,478 62,625 63,454 829
Other general merchandise 21,134 20,361 21,059 20,356 19,793 −563
Net exports of goods under merchanting 133 147 226 643 655 12
Nonmonetary gold 7,743 8,555 12,651 9,065 10,808 1,743
Exports of services1 249,316 255,875 258,072 263,332 271,034 7,702
Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e. 3,684 4,022 3,801 4,440 4,589 149
Transport 24,326 24,261 24,324 24,867 25,860 993
Travel (for all purposes including education) 43,416 46,281 48,490 50,947 52,407 1,460
Business 8,716 9,441 9,587 10,167 10,404 237
Personal 34,700 36,839 38,903 40,780 42,003 1,223
Construction 385 336 369 439 337 −102
Insurance services 6,221 6,280 6,141 6,343 6,239 −104
Financial services 43,735 42,996 44,444 44,286 46,888 2,602
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 33,653 33,828 33,083 33,878 35,439 1,561
Telecommunications, computer, and information services 16,899 17,985 17,678 18,068 20,378 2,310
Other business services 61,255 63,466 63,429 65,040 65,712 672
Personal, cultural, and recreational services 7,443 7,617 7,896 7,776 7,260 −516
Government goods and services n.i.e. 8,299 8,804 8,415 7,250 5,925 −1,325
Primary income receipts 328,098 338,467 355,262 354,894 364,615 9,721
Investment income 326,191 336,539 353,318 352,938 362,659 9,721
Direct investment income 153,720 151,598 164,010 159,851 165,482 5,631
Income on equity 147,943 145,243 157,642 153,233 158,307 5,074
Dividends and withdrawals 92,574 77,831 69,341 45,554 79,870 34,316
Reinvested earnings 55,369 67,412 88,302 107,679 78,436 −29,243
Interest 5,778 6,355 6,367 6,618 7,176 558
Portfolio investment income 120,093 125,372 124,310 124,952 127,604 2,652
Income on equity and investment fund shares 79,876 84,060 82,093 84,543 85,913 1,370
Interest on debt securities 40,217 41,312 42,218 40,409 41,691 1,282
Other investment income 50,787 57,685 62,862 66,027 67,660 1,633
Reserve asset income 1,590 1,884 2,137 2,107 1,913 −194
Compensation of employees 1,907 1,928 1,944 1,957 1,955 −2
Secondary income (current transfer) receipts2 47,181 49,441 47,707 52,317 49,663 −2,654
p
Preliminary
r
Revised
n.a.
Not available
n.i.e.
Not included elsewhere
  1. See also “Table 2.1. U.S. Trade in Services, by Type of Service” on the BEA website.
  2. Secondary income (current transfer) receipts include U.S. government and private transfers, such as fines and penalties, withholding taxes, insurance-related transfers, and other current transfers.

Note. The statistics are presented in tables 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, and 5.1 of the International Transactions Accounts Interactive Data Application on the BEA website.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Table C. Imports of Goods and Services and Income Payments
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series 2023 2024 Change 2023:Q4 to 2024:Q1
Q1r Q2r Q3r Q4r Q1p
Imports of goods and services and income payments 1,373,241 1,373,424 1,397,698 1,406,196 1,439,101 32,905
Imports of goods 785,166 771,030 773,827 778,485 793,871 15,386
General merchandise 779,922 758,942 766,829 771,465 789,557 18,092
Foods, feeds, and beverages 51,175 49,312 50,528 50,459 52,884 2,425
Industrial supplies and materials 178,050 163,462 162,070 164,812 165,098 286
Energy products 75,255 64,825 69,679 74,612 69,309 −5,303
Of which: Petroleum and products 67,208 59,314 64,278 68,842 63,262 −5,580
Nonenergy products 102,795 98,637 92,391 90,200 95,789 5,589
Capital goods except automotive 217,048 214,554 215,281 218,151 227,663 9,512
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 109,634 113,247 117,774 118,749 120,441 1,692
Consumer goods except food and automotive 192,714 187,217 189,739 187,788 192,460 4,672
Other general merchandise 31,300 31,151 31,436 31,506 31,011 −495
Nonmonetary gold 5,245 12,088 6,998 7,020 4,314 −2,706
Imports of services1 183,267 185,511 186,703 192,717 197,824 5,107
Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e. 1,496 1,625 1,516 1,832 1,958 126
Transport 36,927 35,803 34,945 35,199 38,188 2,989
Travel (for all purposes including education) 37,676 39,354 39,615 42,033 43,323 1,290
Business 3,996 4,141 4,136 4,288 4,353 65
Personal 33,680 35,213 35,479 37,745 38,971 1,226
Construction 392 381 388 433 461 28
Insurance services 14,965 15,737 16,755 17,150 17,055 −95
Financial services 15,466 15,682 15,979 15,564 15,334 −230
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 11,219 11,572 11,920 12,826 12,619 −207
Telecommunications, computer, and information services 14,701 14,643 15,552 15,246 14,908 −338
Other business services 35,996 36,079 35,179 37,820 39,428 1,608
Personal, cultural, and recreational services 8,052 8,188 8,516 8,258 8,208 −50
Government goods and services n.i.e. 6,378 6,447 6,338 6,354 6,341 −13
Primary income payments 311,356 320,540 338,382 339,413 352,287 12,874
Investment income 304,803 313,759 331,562 332,453 345,387 12,934
Direct investment income 77,988 71,689 79,012 78,484 83,748 5,264
Portfolio investment income 161,135 169,033 173,247 171,614 177,319 5,705
Income on equity and investment fund shares 53,018 54,589 54,049 55,382 55,808 426
Interest on debt securities 108,117 114,444 119,198 116,232 121,511 5,279
Other investment income 65,681 73,038 79,303 82,355 84,320 1,965
Compensation of employees 6,553 6,781 6,820 6,961 6,901 −60
Secondary income (current transfer) payments2 93,452 96,342 98,786 95,581 95,119 −462
Supplemental detail on insurance transactions:            
Premiums paid 37,126 40,065 43,864 45,171 45,824 653
Losses recovered 28,182 29,004 29,158 29,103 29,571 468
p
Preliminary
r
Revised
n.a.
Not available
n.i.e.
Not included elsewhere

Table Footnotes

  1. See also “Table 2.1. U.S. Trade in Services, by Type of Service” on the BEA website.
  2. Secondary income (current transfer) receipts include U.S. government and private transfers, such as fines and penalties, withholding taxes, insurance-related transfers, and other current transfers.

Note. The statistics are presented in tables 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, and 5.1 of the International Transactions Accounts Interactive Data Application on the BEA website.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis


Capital-transfer receipts increased $29 million to $44 million in the first quarter (table A). Capital-transfer payments increased $0.1 billion to $1.9 billion, mainly reflecting an increase in infrastructure grants.

Net financial-account transactions were −$197.3 billion in the first quarter, reflecting net U.S. borrowing from foreign residents.

Financial assets

First-quarter transactions increased U.S. residents' foreign financial assets by $321.2 billion (charts 5 and 6 and table D). Transactions increased portfolio investment assets, both debt securities and equity, by $164.1 billion; direct investment assets, mostly equity, by $118.3 billion; other investment assets, resulting from an increase in loans that was mostly offset by a decrease in deposits, by $36.3 billion; and reserve assets by $2.5 billion.

Liabilities

First-quarter transactions increased U.S. liabilities to foreign residents by $515.6 billion. Transactions increased portfolio investment liabilities, mostly long-term debt securities, by $389.5 billion; direct investment liabilities, mostly equity, by $81.2 billion; and other investment liabilities, primarily loans, by $44.9 billion.

Financial derivatives


Net transactions in financial derivatives were −$2.9 billion in the first quarter, reflecting net U.S. borrowing from foreign residents.

Chart 5. Acquisition of Financial Assets and Incurrence of Liabilities Excluding Financial Derivatives

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Chart 6. Transactions in Financial Assets and Liabilities Excluding Financial Derivatives

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Table D. Net U.S. Acquisition of Financial Assets and Net U.S. Incurrence of Liabilities
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series 2023 2024 Change 2023:Q4 to 2024:Q1
Q1r Q2r Q3r Q4r Q1p
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets excluding financial derivatives (net increase in assets / financial outflow (+)) 199,533 209,246 270,003 299,822 321,182 21,360
Direct investment assets 89,192 78,657 119,890 166,346 118,344 −48,002
Equity 63,398 72,286 101,242 123,029 109,666 −13,363
Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 8,029 4,874 12,941 15,351 31,230 15,879
Reinvestment of earnings 55,369 67,412 88,302 107,679 78,436 −29,243
Debt instruments 25,795 6,370 18,648 43,316 8,678 −34,638
Portfolio investment assets 18,614 53,042 48,595 −38,689 164,075 202,764
Equity and investment fund shares −38,229 39,376 28,471 −34,309 81,753 116,062
Debt securities 56,843 13,666 20,124 −4,380 82,322 86,702
Short-term securities −821 −18,662 16,094 −22,383 −33,724 −11,341
Long-term corporate securities 38,917 26,720 3,615 14,904 89,363 74,459
Other long-term securities 18,747 5,608 415 3,099 26,683 23,584
Other investment assets 90,948 77,276 101,118 173,574 36,253 −137,321
Other equity 266 1,582 0 0 5 5
Currency and deposits −69,157 −28,545 51,977 77,084 −83,548 −160,632
Loans 162,247 106,083 47,076 91,991 120,344 28,353
Trade credit and advances −2,408 −1,844 2,065 4,498 −548 −5,046
Reserve assets 778 272 400 −1,408 2,509 3,917
Monetary gold 0 0 0 0 0 0
Special drawing rights 969 812 1,713 1,130 1,965 835
Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund −210 −637 −1,487 −2,596 609 3,205
Other reserve assets 19 97 175 58 −65 −123
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities excluding financial derivatives (net increase in liabilities / financial inflow (+)) 585,035 309,433 467,099 525,518 515,595 −9,923
Direct investment liabilities 93,218 88,890 66,740 99,936 81,203 −18,733
Equity 105,942 58,503 67,465 74,372 66,460 −7,912
Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 59,642 15,826 16,902 23,555 15,272 −8,283
Reinvestment of earnings 46,299 42,677 50,562 50,818 51,189 371
Debt instruments −12,724 30,387 −725 25,564 14,743 −10,821
Portfolio investment liabilities 349,775 392,385 261,558 227,358 389,473 162,115
Equity and investment fund shares 87,865 49,737 1,942 −6,530 67,406 73,936
Debt securities 261,910 342,648 259,616 233,888 322,067 88,179
Short-term securities −7,847 10,830 108,444 20,662 4,566 −16,096
Treasury bills and certificates 12,633 −12,573 98,646 21,766 1,885 −19,881
Federally sponsored agency securities 3,764 −5,895 −5,414 −4,658 2,033 6,691
Other short-term securities −24,244 29,298 15,212 3,554 648 −2,906
Long-term securities 269,757 331,818 151,172 213,227 317,501 104,274
Treasury bonds and notes 142,833 200,938 21,979 125,063 178,296 53,233
Federally sponsored agency securities 36,692 49,810 45,685 26,883 13,011 −13,872
Corporate bonds and notes 89,347 79,182 81,327 59,989 123,315 63,326
Other long-term securities 885 1,888 2,181 1,292 2,879 1,587
Other investment liabilities 142,042 −171,842 138,801 198,223 44,919 −153,304
Other equity n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Currency 6,807 11,869 −9,688 7,609 4,683 −2,926
Deposits 53,824 −49,845 37,309 174,287 −36,431 −210,718
Loans 77,313 −138,667 104,119 4,516 55,804 51,288
Trade credit and advances 4,096 4,800 7,061 11,811 20,862 9,051
Special drawing rights allocations 0 0 0 0 0 0
p
Preliminary
r
Revised
n.a.
Not available

Note. The statistics are presented in tables 1.2, 6.1, 7.1, and 8.1 of the International Transactions Accounts Interactive Data Application on the BEA website.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

The U.S. international transactions statistics for the first quarter of 2019 through the fourth quarter of 2023 have been updated to incorporate newly available and revised source data, a new estimation method for sea freight exports and other improvements to sea transport services, and recalculated seasonal adjustments (table E). For more information, see the forthcoming Survey of Current Business article “Annual Update of the U.S. International Transactions Accounts.”

Table E. Updates to Fourth-Quarter 2023 International Transactions Aggregates
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series Preliminary estimates Revised estimates
Balance on current account −194,810 −221,784
Balance on goods −264,948 −264,616
Balance on services 72,908 70,616
Balance on primary income 36,129 15,481
Balance on secondary income (current transfers) −38,899 −43,264
Net lending or borrowing from financial-account transactions −221,117 −235,937
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets 258,959 299,822
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities 469,833 525,518
Financial derivatives other than reserves, net transactions −10,242 −10,242

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Footnotes

  1. U.S. international transactions are presented in current dollars in accordance with international statistical presentation guidelines. For a comparison of current-dollar, or nominal, and inflation-adjusted, or real, measures of international transactions, see “SECTION 4 – FOREIGN TRANSACTIONS” of the National Income and Product Accounts.