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NEWS RELEASE
FOR WIRE TRANSMISSION: 8:30 A.M. EST, MONDAY, December 30, 2013
Christopher A. Gohrband:
Elena L. Nguyen:

(202) 606-9564
(202) 606-9555

BEA 13-66

U.S. Net International Investment Position: End of Third Quarter 2013
The U.S. net international investment position at the end of the third quarter of 2013 was
-$4,165.6 billion (preliminary) as the value of foreign investments in the United States exceeded
the value of U.S. investments abroad (chart 1, table 1). At the end of the second quarter, the U.S.
net international investment position was -$4,455.0 billion (revised). The $289.5 billion increase
in the net position reflected a $621.5 billion increase in the value of U.S.-owned assets abroad
that exceeded a $332.1 billion increase in the value of foreign-owned assets in the United States.
The U.S. net position increased primarily as rising foreign stock prices, as well as the
appreciation of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar, increased the value of U.S.-owned
assets abroad more than the increase in the value of foreign-owned assets in the United States.
Chart 1. U.S. Net International Investment Position, 2006:IV-2013:III
(Quarterly, not seasonally adjusted)

Billions of dollars
0

Chart 2. Foreign-Owned Assets in the United States and
U.S.-Owned Assets Abroad, 2006:IV-2013:III
Billions of dollars
(Quarterly, not seasonally adjusted)
30,000

-500

Foreign-owned assets in the United States
25,000

-1,000
-1,500

20,000

-2,000
U.S.-owned assets abroad

2006:IV
15,000

-2,500

2006:IV

-3,000
10,000

-3,500
-4,000

5,000

-4,500
0

-5,000
2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

The U.S. net international investment position increased 6.5 percent in the third quarter,
compared with a 5.2-percent decrease in the second quarter and an average quarterly decrease of
7.6 percent from the first quarter of 2011 through the second quarter of 2013. The net position
was equal to 2.2 percent of the value of all U.S. financial assets at the end of the third quarter,
__________________

NOTE: This news release is available on BEA’s Web site <www.bea.gov> along with Quarterly
Highlights related to this release, the latest detailed statistics for the U.S. international investment
position, and a description of the estimation methods used to compile them. The third-quarter
statistics for 2013 in this release are preliminary and will be revised on March 26, 2014.
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-2down from 2.4 percent at the end of the second quarter. 1
U.S.-owned assets abroad were $21,590.9 billion at the end of the third quarter compared
with $20,969.4 billion at the end of the second quarter (chart 2). The $621.5 billion increase
reflected a $687.4 billion increase in the value of U.S.-owned assets abroad excluding financial
derivatives that was partly offset by a $65.9 billion decrease in the value of financial derivatives.
U.S.-owned assets abroad excluding financial derivatives were $18,831.7 billion at the end
of the third quarter compared with $18,144.3 billion at the end of the second quarter. The $687.4
billion increase reflected a $606.6 billion increase resulting from valuation changes and an $80.8
billion increase resulting from financial outflows. 2 Valuation changes were mainly attributable to
the increase in foreign stock prices that raised the value of U.S. holdings of foreign stocks and also
to the appreciation of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar.
Foreign-owned assets in the United States were $25,756.5 billion at the end of the third
quarter compared with $25,424.4 billion at the end of the second quarter (chart 2). The $332.1
billion increase reflected a $385.8 billion increase in the value of foreign-owned assets in the
United States excluding financial derivatives that was partly offset by a $53.8 billion decrease in
the value of financial derivatives.
Foreign-owned assets in the United States excluding financial derivatives were $23,044.6
billion at the end of the third quarter compared with $22,658.7 billion at the end of the second
quarter. The $385.8 billion increase reflected a $230.3 billion increase resulting from valuation
changes and a $155.6 billion increase resulting from financial inflows. Valuation changes were
mostly attributable to increases in U.S. stock prices that raised the value of foreign holdings of
U.S. stocks. The rise in the value of U.S. stocks was partly offset by declines in the value of U.S.
Treasury and agency debt due to falling prices. The appreciation of foreign currencies relative to
the U.S. dollar had very little impact on the value of foreign-owned assets, which are mostly
denominated in U.S. dollars.
Revisions
The U.S. net international investment position at the end of the second quarter of 2013 was
revised to -$4,455.0 billion from a previously-published value of -$4,504.1 billion. The $49.1
billion upward revision to the net position reflected a $63.9 billion downward revision to foreignowned assets in the United States that exceeded a $14.9 billion downward revision to U.S.-owned
assets abroad.
U.S.-owned assets abroad at the end of the second quarter were revised to $20,969.4
billion from $20,984.3 billion, and foreign-owned assets in the United States were revised to
1

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRS), Flow of Funds Accounts of the United States, Flows and
Outstandings, Third Quarter 2013, Release Z.1. Statistical Release (Washington, DC: FRS, December 9, 2013) Table
L.5, page 11. According to the December 9, 2013 Z.1 release, the value of all U.S. financial assets was $188,503.7
billion at the end of the third quarter. U.S. assets abroad from the international investment position were $21,590.9
billion at the end of the third quarter, 11.5% of all U.S. assets, up from 11.4% in the second quarter and down from the
13.8% series peak in the fourth quarter of 2008.
2

For statistics on financial flows, see the financial account transactions in table 1 of the U.S. International
Transactions Accounts. Financial flows discussed in this release are not seasonally adjusted. Detailed valuation
changes such as price, exchange-rate, and other changes are available only for annual statistics.

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-3$25,424.4 billion from $25,488.4 billion. These revisions reflect revised source data from the
Treasury International Capital (TIC) reporting system and from BEA’s quarterly surveys of direct
investment.
*

*

*

Valuing the Components of the U.S. International Investment Position
Investment positions for long-term portfolio securities are based on market values from
monthly, annual, and benchmark surveys conducted by the Treasury International Capital (TIC)
reporting system of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Investment positions for financial
derivatives are based on fair market values from quarterly surveys conducted by the TIC reporting
system. Investment positions for claims and liabilities reported by banks, securities brokers, and
other nonbanks are based on contractual (face) values of instruments as reported by financial
institutions for both their own accounts and the accounts of their customers on the monthly and
quarterly surveys conducted by the TIC reporting system with supplementary data for U.S.
nonbanks from foreign central banks.
Investment positions for direct investment are valued at current-period prices based on a
revaluation of book values. Book values are reported by U.S. multinational companies on surveys
conducted by BEA. Direct investment at current cost is BEA’s featured measure of direct
investment at current-period prices. 3 The current-cost method values the U.S. and foreign parent
shares of their affiliates’ investment in (1) plant and equipment using the current cost of capital
equipment, (2) land using general price indexes, and (3) inventories using estimates of their
replacement cost. 4
*

*

*

Release dates in 2014:
End of the Fourth Quarter and Year 2013......................................March 26, 2014 (Wednesday)
End of the First Quarter of 2014, Year 2013, and Annual Revisions….June 30, 2014 (Monday)
End of the Second Quarter of 2014.............................................September 25, 2014 (Thursday)
End of the Third Quarter of 2014..................................................December 30, 2014 (Tuesday)
*

*

*

BEA’s national, international, regional, and industry statistics; the Survey of Current
Business; and BEA news releases are available without charge at www.bea.gov. At the site, you
can also subscribe to receive free e-mail summaries of BEA releases and announcements.
3

BEA publishes direct investment at market value as an alternative current-period price measure with owners’ equity
revalued using indexes of stock market prices. BEA also publishes direct investment at historical cost with owners’
equity at the book value reported on BEA’s surveys. Country and industry detail for direct investment are available
only on a historical-cost basis (see http://www.bea.gov/iTable/index_MNC.cfm).
4

For additional information on the current-cost and market-value methods, see J. Steven Landefeld and Ann M.
Lawson, “Valuation of the U.S. Net International Investment Position,” Survey of Current Business 71 (May 1991):
40–49.

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-4Table 1. International Investment Position of the United States at the End of the Quarter
[Millions of dollars, not seasonally adjusted]
Line

1

2012

Type of investment
I

III

II

Change:
2013:II to
2013:III

2013
I

IV

II

r

III

p

1 Net international investment position of the United States (lines 2+3).......................................
2 Financial derivatives, net (line 5 less line 25).................................................................................
3 Net international investment position, excluding financial derivatives (line 6 less line 26)...........

-3,886,446
76,286
-3,962,732

-4,332,158
67,589
-4,399,747

-4,109,198
52,493
-4,161,691

-3,863,892
57,776
-3,921,668

-4,236,559
40,025
-4,276,584

-4,455,040
59,352
-4,514,392

-4,165,583
47,248
-4,212,831

289,457
-12,104
301,561

4 U.S.-owned assets abroad (lines 5+6)...........................................................................................
5 Financial derivatives (gross positive fair value)...........................................................................
6 U.S.-owned assets abroad, excluding financial derivatives (lines 7+12+17)................................

21,349,048
3,950,239
17,398,809

20,948,183
4,155,820
16,792,363

21,551,595
3,925,606
17,625,989

21,637,618
3,619,761
18,017,857

21,590,055
3,248,377
18,341,678

20,969,405
2,825,067
18,144,338

21,590,938
2,759,201
18,831,737

621,533
-65,866
687,399

7

U.S. official reserve assets............................................................................................................

572,578

556,620

606,277

572,368

553,058

446,207

483,426

37,219

8
9
10
11

Gold .......................................................................................................................................
Special drawing rights................................................................................................................
Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund................................................................
Foreign currencies......................................................................................................................

434,742
55,460
31,436
50,940

418,006
54,341
33,930
50,343

464,422
55,232
35,248
51,375

433,434
55,050
34,161
49,723

417,941
53,704
34,039
47,374

311,707
53,881
33,860
46,759

346,878
54,966
33,462
48,120

35,171
1,085
-398
1,361

12

U.S. government assets, other than official reserve assets...........................................................

127,814

111,164

95,958

93,570

94,016

90,901

90,052

-849

80,642
80,369

82,500
82,227

82,691
82,418

84,029
83,756

85,433
85,160

88,636
88,363

88,933
88,660

297
297

13
14
15

2

U.S. credits and other long-term assets 3.....................................................................................
Repayable in dollars................................................................................................................
4

273

273

273

273

273

273

273

0

16

U.S. foreign currency holdings and U.S. short-term assets 5......................................................

47,172

28,664

13,267

9,541

8,583

2,265

1,119

-1,146

17
18
19
20
21
22
23

U.S. private assets.........................................................................................................................
Direct investment at current cost...............................................................................................
Foreign securities.......................................................................................................................
Bonds.......................................................................................................................................
Corporate stocks......................................................................................................................
U.S. claims on unaffiliated foreigners reported by U.S. nonbanking concerns..........................
U.S. claims reported by U.S. banks and securities brokers, not included elsewhere..................

16,698,417
4,759,096
6,999,263
1,960,498
5,038,765
869,251
4,070,807

16,124,579
4,826,428
6,662,323
1,946,486
4,715,837
845,301
3,790,527

16,923,754
4,983,377
7,159,326
2,052,037
5,107,289
845,865
3,935,186

17,351,919
5,077,750
7,531,223
2,140,685
5,390,538
844,752
3,898,194

17,694,604
5,123,775
7,823,264
2,174,582
5,648,682
906,061
3,841,504

17,607,230
5,194,622
7,719,064
2,086,978
5,632,086
974,663
3,718,881

18,258,259
5,318,629
8,291,808
2,127,228
6,164,580
980,805
3,667,017

651,029
124,007
572,744
40,250
532,494
6,142
-51,864

24 Foreign-owned assets in the United States (lines 25+26)...........................................................
25 Financial derivatives (gross negative fair value)..........................................................................
26 Foreign-owned assets in the United States, excluding financial derivatives (lines 27+34)..........

25,235,494
3,873,953
21,361,541

25,280,341
4,088,231
21,192,110

25,660,793
3,873,113
21,787,680

25,501,510
3,561,985
21,939,525

25,826,614
3,208,352
22,618,262

25,424,445
2,765,715
22,658,730

25,756,521
2,711,953
23,044,568

332,076
-53,762
385,838

27
28
29
30

Foreign official assets in the United States...................................................................................
U.S. government securities.........................................................................................................
U.S. Treasury securities...........................................................................................................
Other........................................................................................................................................

5,428,122
4,316,906
3,722,551
594,355

5,496,057
4,400,470
3,857,872
542,598

5,640,245
4,487,789
3,958,112
529,677

5,692,448
4,526,896
4,032,204
494,692

5,814,441
4,561,428
4,090,723
470,705

5,744,199
4,460,203
4,009,152
451,051

5,843,282
4,485,873
4,016,025
469,848

99,083
25,670
6,873
18,797

31
32
33

Other U.S. government liabilities ..............................................................................................
U.S. liabilities reported by U.S. banks and securities brokers, not included elsewhere.............
Other foreign official assets.......................................................................................................

123,406
191,515
796,295

125,065
191,921
778,601

127,657
198,987
825,812

128,279
204,401
832,872

128,554
224,462
899,997

132,268
215,107
936,621

136,437
245,159
975,813

4,169
30,052
39,192

34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42

Other foreign assets......................................................................................................................
Direct investment at current cost...............................................................................................
U.S. Treasury securities..............................................................................................................
U.S. securities other than U.S. Treasury securities.....................................................................
Corporate and other bonds......................................................................................................
Corporate stocks......................................................................................................................
U.S. currency..............................................................................................................................
U.S. liabilities to unaffiliated foreigners reported by U.S. nonbanking concerns.......................
U.S. liabilities reported by U.S. banks and securities brokers, not included elsewhere.............

15,933,419
2,913,781
1,425,087
6,608,954
2,927,923
3,681,031
415,143
683,453
3,887,001

15,696,053
2,976,814
1,455,648
6,491,227
2,887,851
3,603,376
422,259
680,186
3,669,919

16,147,435
3,029,271
1,517,253
6,794,000
3,008,379
3,785,621
438,415
678,508
3,689,988

16,247,077
3,057,326
1,541,569
6,904,050
3,061,963
3,842,087
454,227
656,522
3,633,383

16,803,821
3,074,647
1,631,056
7,296,277
3,056,573
4,239,704
459,184
632,919
3,709,738

16,914,531
3,101,291
1,585,232
7,258,691
2,940,348
4,318,343
468,670
626,418
3,874,229

17,201,286
3,131,595
1,638,634
7,614,454
3,034,976
4,579,478
481,334
565,620
3,769,649

286,755
30,304
53,402
355,763
94,628
261,135
12,664
-60,798
-104,580

4,975,809
3,855,543
4,169,123
2,529,479

4,679,267
3,764,768
4,224,965
2,585,115

5,058,812
3,961,992
4,370,424
2,630,175

5,249,539
3,923,969
4,453,307
2,650,832

5,500,811
4,251,181
4,499,331
2,668,153

5,435,081
4,333,762
4,570,179
2,694,796

5,980,129
4,524,450
4,694,186
2,725,102

545,048
190,688
124,007
30,306

Other .......................................................................................................................................

6

Memoranda:
43 Direct investment abroad at market value..........................................................................................
44 Direct investment in the United States at market value......................................................................
45 Direct investment abroad at historical cost.........................................................................................
46 Direct investment in the United States at historical cost.....................................................................
p Preliminary
r Revised

1. The statistics for each quarter are the values as of the last day of the quarter; the first quarter ends on March 31; the second quarter ends on June 30; the third quarter ends on September 30; and the fourth quarter
ends on December 31 of the year.
2. U.S. official gold stock is valued at market price.
3. Also includes paid-in capital subscriptions to international financial institutions and outstanding amounts of miscellaneous claims that have been settled through international agreements to be payable to the U.S.
government over periods in excess of 1 year. Excludes World War I debts that are not being serviced.
4. Includes indebtedness that the borrower may contractually, or at its option, repay with its currency, with a third country's currency, or by delivery of materials or transfer of services.
5. Includes foreign-currency-denominated assets obtained through temporary reciprocal currency arrangements between the Federal Reserve System and foreign central banks. These assets are included in the
investment position at the dollar value established at the time they were received, reflecting the valuation of these assets in the Federal Reserve System’s balance sheet. Changes in exchange rates do not affect this
valuation.
6. Includes U.S. government liabilities associated with military sales contracts and U.S. government reserve-related liabilities from allocations of special drawing rights (SDRs).
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis