News Release
These data have been superseded. Please see our latest releases for current estimates and contact information.
U.S. International Transactions, 1st quarter 2013 and Annual Revisions
NOTE: See the navigation bar at the right side of the news release text for links to data tables,
contact personnel and their telephone numbers, and supplementary materials.
Sarah Scott: | (202) 606-9286 | (Data) |
Paul W. Farello: | (202) 606-9561 | (Revisions) |
The U.S. current-account deficitthe combined balances on trade in goods and services, income, and net unilateral current transfersincreased to $106.1 billion (preliminary) in the first quarter of 2013 from $102.3 billion (revised) in the fourth quarter of 2012. The increase in the current-account deficit was accounted for by a decrease in the surplus on income and an increase in outflows of net unilateral current transfers, such as government grants, government pensions, and private remittances. These changes were partly offset by a decrease in the deficit on goods and an increase in the surplus on services. Goods and services The deficit on goods and services decreased to $123.7 billion in the first quarter from $127.4 billion in the fourth. Goods The deficit on goods decreased to $179.1 billion in the first quarter from $182.4 billion in the fourth. Goods exports increased to $391.0 billion from $390.3 billion. Increases in two major end- use categories more than offset decreases in the other four categories. The largest increase was in industrial supplies and materials. The largest decrease was in exports, not elsewhere classified. The increase in industrial supplies and materials was led by nonmonetary gold and chemicals (Table 2a). Goods imports decreased to $570.1 billion from $572.7 billion. Imports of three of the six major end-use categories decreased. The largest decreases were in automotive vehicles, parts, and engines and in industrial supplies and materials. The decrease in imports of automotive vehicles, parts, and engines was mostly due to a decrease in passenger cars. The decrease in imports of industrial supplies and materials was more than accounted for by a decrease in petroleum and products. The largest increases were in imports of foods, feeds, and beverages and in imports, not elsewhere classified, and U.S. goods returned (Table 2a). Services The surplus on services increased to $55.5 billion in the first quarter from $55.0 billion in the fourth. Services exports increased to $168.0 billion from $166.2 billion. Exports increased in five of the seven major services categories. The largest increases were in travel and in other transportation (which includes freight and port services) (Table 3a). Services imports increased to $112.6 billion from $111.2 billion. Imports increased in five of the seven major services categories. Increases were of similar magnitude in other transportation, passenger fares, travel, and royalties and license fees (Table 3a). Income The surplus on income decreased to $52.0 billion in the first quarter from $57.0 billion in the fourth. Investment income Income receipts on U.S.-owned assets abroad decreased to $191.3 billion from $195.2 billion. The decrease was more than accounted for by a decrease in direct investment receipts (Table 4). Income payments on foreign-owned assets in the United States increased to $137.4 billion from $136.3 billion. The increase was more than accounted for by increases in direct investment payments and other private payments (Table 4). Compensation of employees Receipts for compensation of U.S. residents paid by nonresidents remained at $1.6 billion in the first quarter.Payments for compensation of foreign residents paid by U.S. residents remained at $3.6 billion. Unilateral current transfers Net unilateral current transfers to foreigners were $34.5 billion in the first quarter, up from $31.9 billion in the fourth. The increase was partly accounted for by a shift from net inflows of U.S. government pensions and other transfers in the fourth quarter to net outflows in the first quarter. This shift reflects transactions related to cross-border fines and penalties, a new series incorporated into the U.S. international transactions accounts beginning with statistics for 1999 (see Revisions on page 6). Private remittances and other transfers and U.S. government grants also increased. Capital Account Net capital-account payments were near zero in the first quarter after net receipts of $7.7 billion in the fourth quarter. The large receipts in the fourth quarter reflected receipts from foreign insurance companies for losses resulting from Superstorm Sandy. Financial Account Net financial inflows were $80.7 billion in the first quarter, down from $129.4 billion in the fourth. Growth of both U.S.-owned assets abroad and foreign-owned assets in the United States in the first quarter exceeded that in the fourth. Net inflows of financial derivatives increased in the first quarter. U.S.-owned assets abroad U.S.-owned assets abroad increased $218.8 billion in the first quarter after increasing $116.0 billion in the fourth. U.S. official reserve assets increased $0.9 billion in the first quarter after decreasing $0.9 billion in the fourth. The first-quarter increase reflected an increase in the U.S. reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF). U.S. government assets other than official reserve assets decreased $0.8 billion in the first quarter after decreasing $2.4 billion in the fourth. U.S. direct investment abroad was $88.5 billion in the first quarter, down from $95.4 billion in the fourth. The decrease was accounted for by lower reinvested earnings than in the fourth quarter (Table 7a). U.S. purchases of foreign securities exceeded sales (net purchases) by $130.6 billion in the first quarter, up from net purchases of $73.0 billion in the fourth. Net purchases of foreign stocks were $72.6 billion, up from net purchases of $10.4 billion in the fourth. Net purchases of foreign bonds were $57.9 billion, down from net purchases of $62.6 billion in the fourth (Table 8a). U.S. claims on unaffiliated foreigners reported by U.S. nonbanking concerns increased $16.3 billion in the first quarter after decreasing $18.3 billion in the fourth. U.S. claims on foreigners reported by U.S. banks and securities brokers decreased $16.6 billion in the first quarter after decreasing $30.8 billion in the fourth. Examples of these claims are deposits of U.S. banks at foreign banks and loans by U.S. banks to foreigners. Foreign-owned assets in the United States Foreign-owned assets in the United States increased $295.5 billion in the first quarter after increasing $242.4 billion in the fourth. Foreign official assets in the United States increased $84.8 billion in the first quarter after increasing $84.4 billion in the fourth. Foreign direct investment in the United States was $22.8 billion in the first quarter, down from $42.3 billion in the fourth. The decrease was more than accounted for by lower equity investment than in the fourth quarter. The decrease in equity investment was partly offset by lower net outflows of intercompany debt investment (Table 7a). Foreign private purchases of U.S. Treasury securities exceeded sales by $109.4 billion in the first quarter, an increase from fourth-quarter net purchases of $33.5 billion. The increase from the fourth quarter was accounted for by increased net purchases of U.S. Treasury bonds and notes, and a shift from net sales to net purchases of U.S. Treasury bills and certificates (Table 8a and Table 11a). Foreign private sales of U.S. securities other than U.S. Treasury securities exceeded purchases by $10.9 billion in the first quarter, a shift from net purchases of $143.5 billion in the fourth. Net sales of U.S. stocks were $24.7 billion, a shift from net purchases of $94.7 billion. Net sales of U.S. federally sponsored agency bonds were $19.7 billion, a shift from net purchases of $5.0 billion. Net purchases of U.S. corporate bonds were $33.5 billion, down from $43.8 billion (Table 8a). Net shipments of U.S. currency to foreign countries were $5.0 billion in the first quarter following net shipments of $15.8 billion in the fourth. U.S. liabilities to unaffiliated foreigners reported by U.S. nonbanking concerns decreased $20.5 billion in the first quarter after decreasing $22.4 billion in the fourth. U.S. liabilities to foreigners reported by U.S. banks and securities brokers, other than those recorded under foreign official assets, increased $105.0 billion in the first quarter after decreasing $54.7 billion in the fourth. Examples of these liabilities are deposits of foreign residents at U.S. banks and loans by foreign banks to U.S. banks. Financial Derivatives Net inflows of financial derivatives were $3.9 billion in the first quarter after net inflows of $3.0 billion in the fourth. * * * The statistical discrepancythe amount that balances the sum of the recorded credits and debits across all the accounts in the international transactions accountswas $25.5 billion in the first quarter compared with -$34.7 billion in the fourth. In the first quarter, the U.S. dollar appreciated 2.2 percent on a trade-weighted quarterly average basis against a group of 7 major currencies. In the fourth quarter, the U.S. dollar depreciated 1.3 percent on the same basis. Exchange rate data are based on Federal Reserve Statistical Release H.10. Revisions The statistics of the U.S. international transactions accounts released today have been revised for the first quarter of 1999 to the fourth quarter of 2012 to incorporate newly available and revised source data, updated seasonal adjustments, changes in definitions and classifications, and improved estimating methodologies. The revisions to the current-account balance mostly reflect newly available and revised data from BEAs surveys of international services transactions and direct investment, and revised data on portfolio investment that resulted in revisions to portfolio income statistics. The revisions to portfolio income statistics and to net financial flows mostly reflect newly available information from three Treasury International Capital (TIC) surveys conducted by the Federal Reserve Board and the U.S. Department of the Treasury: Aggregate Holdings of Long-Term Securities by U.S. and Foreign Residents (SLT), the Benchmark Survey of U.S. Ownership of Foreign Securities at end- December 2011, and the Annual Survey of Foreign Portfolio Holdings of U.S. Securities at end- June 2012. An article in the May 2013 issue of the SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS describing these and other revisions is available on BEAs Web site. Key changes introduced in this annual revision are summarized below. Reclassifications * Exports of goods and services are revised for 2007-2012 to reflect a refined classification methodology for exports under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program. * Imports of goods and services are revised for 1999-2012 to reflect a reclassification of certain military-related imports from services to goods. * U.S. government miscellaneous services payments and compensation payments are revised for 2003-2012 to reflect a reclassification of certain transactions by the U.S. Department of State from services to compensation. Source data and methodologies * Imports of goods on a balance of payments basis are revised for 1999-2012 to eliminate an adjustment previously used to deduct certain imports of military-related goods from data on a Census basis to avoid duplicating imports included in source data provided to BEA by the U.S. Department of Defense. * Other private services receipts and payments are revised for 2003-2012 to implement an improved method for estimating expenditures by border, seasonal, and other short-term workers. * Goods exports and imports are also revised for 2010-2012 to reflect revised Census Bureau data on goods on a Census basis. * Services exports and imports are also revised for 2010-2012 to reflect newly available and revised data from BEAs quarterly services surveys and the results of BEAs 2011 Benchmark Survey of Transactions in Selected Services and Intellectual Property with Foreign Persons. * Unilateral current transfers are revised for 1999-2012 to introduce new estimates that are derived from publicly available records of cross-border fines and penalties for anti-trust violations and bribery. These new estimates are now included in U.S. government pensions and other transfers and in private remittances and other transfers. * U.S. holdings and transactions in foreign stocks and bonds and related dividend and interest receipts are revised for 2010-2012 to incorporate new source data from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Beginning with end-December 2011, new monthly data on cross-border holdings of U.S. and foreign long-term securities collected by the Department of the Treasury are now incorporated into financial-account transactions for long-term securities. The data on long-term securities are from the Treasury International Capital (TIC) form Aggregate Holdings of Long-Term Securities by U.S. and Foreign Residents (SLT). Data from the SLT for foreign securities are used along with the Benchmark Survey of U.S. Ownership of Foreign Securities at end-December 2011 that provides more detail than is available from the SLT. * Foreign holdings and transactions in U.S. stocks and in U.S. corporate, agency, and Treasury bonds and related dividend and interest payments are revised for 2011 and 2012 to incorporate new source data from the Department of the Treasury. Data from the new TIC form SLT are used along with the Annual Survey of Foreign Portfolio Holdings of U.S. Securities at end- June 2012 that provides more detail than is available from the SLT. * For U.S. direct investment abroad, financial flows and related income receipts and payments are revised for 2009-2012 to incorporate the results of BEAs 2009 Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad.For both U.S. direct investment abroad and foreign direct investment in the United States, financial flows and related income receipts and payments are revised for 2010-2012 to incorporate newly available and revised data from BEAs quarterly direct investment surveys. Additional information on the revisions to the U.S. international transactions accounts and the U.S. international investment position will be provided in the July issue of the SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS. Revisions to fourth quarter 2012 The current-account deficit in the fourth quarter of 2012 was revised downward to $102.3 billion from $110.4 billion. The goods deficit was revised upward to $182.4 billion from $180.6 billion. The services surplus was revised upward to $55.0 billion from $52.2 billion. The income surplus was revised upward to $57.0 billion from $52.4 billion. Net outflows of unilateral current transfers were revised downward to $31.9 billion from $34.4 billion. Net financial inflows were revised upward to $129.4 billion from $58.4 billion. * * * Release dates in 2013: Fourth Quarter and Year 2012...................................March 14, 2013 (Thursday) First Quarter 2013 and Annual Revisions...........................June 14, 2013 (Friday) Second Quarter 2013........................................September 19, 2013 (Thursday) Third Quarter 2013...........................................December 17, 2013 (Tuesday) * * * BEAs national, international, regional, and industry statistics; the SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS; and BEA news releases are available without charge on BEAs Web site. By visiting the site, you can also subscribe to receive free e-mail summaries of BEA releases and announcements. ________________ On June 25, BEA will release preliminary statistics of the U.S. international investment position for the first quarter of 2013 and revised statistics for 2009-2012, including detailed annual statistics for 2009-2012 that present changes in positions resulting from financial transactions and valuation changes such as price, exchange-rate, and other changes. The release will also include a discussion of revisions to the international investment position accounts. A more detailed discussion of the U.S. international investment position and the revisions to those accounts will appear in an article in the July SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS. NOTE: This news release is available on BEAs Web site along with Highlights related to this release, the latest detailed statistics for U.S. international transactions, and a description of the estimation methods used to compile them. The first quarter statistics in this release are preliminary and will be revised on September 19, 2013. All links in the text of this releaseincluding archived versions of this releaserefer to the latest available revised statistics.