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EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT 8:30 A.M. EDT, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2017
Technical:

Media:

Christopher Gohrband
Elena Nguyen
Doug Weinberg (Direct Investment)
Jeannine Aversa

(301) 278-9564
(301) 278-9555
(301) 278-9590
(301) 278-9003

BEA 17-50

Christopher.Gohrband@bea.gov
Elena.Nguyen@bea.gov
Douglas.Weinberg@bea.gov
Jeannine.Aversa@bea.gov

U.S. Net International Investment Position
Second Quarter 2017
The U.S. net international investment position increased to −$7,934.9 billion (preliminary) at the end of
the second quarter of 2017 from −$8,091.6 billion (revised) at the end of the first quarter, according to
statistics released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The $156.7 billion increase reflected
a $1,004.2 billion increase in U.S. assets and an $847.5 billion increase in U.S. liabilities (table 1).

U.S. Net International Investment Position
Quarterly, not seasonally adjusted
Billion $
0
-1,000
-2,000
-3,000
-4,000
-5,000
-6,000
-7,000
-8,000

-9,000
2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

The $156.7 billion increase reflected net financial transactions of –$107.5 billion and net other changes
in position, such as price and exchange-rate changes, of $264.2 billion (table A).
The net investment position increased 1.9 percent in the second quarter, compared with an increase of
2.7 percent in the first quarter, and an average quarterly decrease of 5.6 percent from the first quarter
of 2011 through the fourth quarter of 2016.

U.S. assets increased $1,004.2 billion to $25,937.6 billion at the end of the second quarter, mostly
reflecting increases in portfolio investment and direct investment assets.


Assets excluding financial derivatives increased $1,019.6 billion to $24,006.3 billion. The
increase resulted from other changes in position of $657.3 billion and financial transactions of
$362.2 billion (table A). Other changes in position mostly reflected the appreciation of major
foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar that raised the value of assets in dollar terms. Financial
transactions mostly reflected net acquisition of portfolio investment and direct investment
equity assets.
U.S. Assets and Liabilities
Quarterly, not seasonally adjusted
Billion $
35,000

U.S. liabilities

30,000
25,000
U.S. assets
20,000
15,000

10,000
5,000
0
2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Table A. Quarterly Change in the U.S. Net International Investment Position
Billions of dollars, not seasonally adjusted
Position,
2017:I
U.S. net international investment position
Net position excluding financial derivatives
Financial derivatives other than reserves, net

-8,091.6
-8,133.3
41.6

Change in position in 2017:II
Attributable to:
Total
Financial
Other changes
1
transactions
in position
156.7
-107.5
264.2
161.3
-116.8
278.1
-4.6
9.3
-13.9
2

()
657.3
2
()

2

()
379.2
2
()

U.S. assets
Assets excluding financial derivatives
Financial derivatives other than reserves

24,933.4
22,986.7
1,946.7

1,004.2
1,019.6
-15.4

()
362.2
2
()

U.S. liabilities
Liabilities excluding financial derivatives
Financial derivatives other than reserves

33,025.0
31,120.0
1,905.1

847.5
858.3
-10.8

()
479.1
2
()

Position,
2017:II
-7,934.9
-7,972.0
37.1

2

25,937.6
24,006.3
1,931.3

2

33,872.5
31,978.2
1,894.3

1. Disaggregation of other changes in position into price changes, exchange-rate changes, and other changes in volume and
valuation is only presented for annual statistics released in June each year.
2. Financial transactions and other changes in financial derivatives positions are available only on a net basis; they are not
separately available for U.S. assets and U.S. liabilities.

–2–

U.S. liabilities increased $847.5 billion to $33,872.5 billion at the end of the second quarter, mostly
reflecting increases in portfolio investment and direct investment liabilities.


Liabilities excluding financial derivatives increased $858.3 billion to $31,978.2 billion. The
increase resulted from financial transactions of $479.1 billion and other changes in position of
$379.2 billion (table A). Financial transactions mostly reflected net incurrence of portfolio
investment liabilities. Other changes in position mostly reflected price increases on portfolio
investment and direct investment liabilities.

Updates to First Quarter 2017 International Investment Position Aggregates
Billions of dollars, not seasonally adjusted
Preliminary estimate
-8,141.2
24,833.2
7,843.6
10,570.2
1,946.7
4,039.6
433.1
32,974.5
7,952.4
17,859.8
1,905.1
5,257.2

U.S. net international investment position
U.S. assets
Direct investment at market value
Portfolio investment
Financial derivatives other than reserves
Other investment
Reserve assets
U.S. liabilities
Direct investment at market value
Portfolio investment
Financial derivatives other than reserves
Other investment

Revised estimate
-8,091.6
24,933.4
7,895.4
10,591.6
1,946.7
4,066.6
433.1
33,025.0
7,952.4
17,908.3
1,905.1
5,259.2

Next release: December 28, 2017, at 8:30 A.M. EST
U.S. Net International Investment Position, Third Quarter 2017

–3–

Additional Information
Price changes (only presented for annual statistics in the
June news release) are changes in the value of an asset or
liability due to changes in the market price of a financial
instrument.

Resources









Stay informed about BEA developments by
reading the BEA blog, signing up for BEA’s email
subscription service, or following BEA on Twitter
@BEA_News.
Historical time series for these estimates can be
accessed in BEA’s Interactive Data Application.
Access BEA data by registering for BEA’s Data
Application Programming Interface (API).
For more on BEA’s statistics, see our monthly
online journal, the Survey of Current Business.
BEA's news release schedule.
More information on these international
investment position statistics will be provided
next month in the Survey of Current Business.
More information on the international
investment position accounts and a description
of the estimation methods used to compile them
is provided in U.S. International Economic
Accounts: Concepts and Methods.

Exchange-rate changes (only presented for annual
statistics in the June news release) are changes in the value
of foreign-currency denominated assets and liabilities due
to changes in the values of foreign currencies relative to
the value of the U.S. dollar.
Changes in volume and valuation n.i.e. (only presented for
annual statistics in the June news release) reflect changes
in position due to year-to-year shifts in the composition of
reporting panels, the incorporation of more
comprehensive annual and benchmark survey results, and
revaluations (holding gains and losses) on assets and
liabilities that are not explained by price changes or
exchange-rate changes.
Functional categories are the primary classification system
used in the IIP and in the financial account of the ITAs. The
five functional categories are direct investment, portfolio
investment, financial derivatives other than reserves,
other investment, and reserve assets. While the functional
categories are based on features that are relevant for
understanding cross-border financial transactions and
positions, they also take into account some aspects of the
relationship between transactors and the economic
motivation for the investment. Within the functional
categories, the IIP accounts are classified by type of
financial instrument.

Definitions
The international investment position (IIP) is a statistical
balance sheet that presents the dollar value of U.S.
financial assets and liabilities with respect to foreign
residents at a specific point in time. BEA presents IIP
statistics at the end of a quarter or year (March, June,
September, and December). For the June release, BEA also
presents statistics on changes in the yearend position that
are disaggregated into financial transactions, price
changes, exchange-rate changes, and changes in volume
and valuation not included elsewhere (n.i.e.).

Direct investment is a category of cross-border investment
associated with a resident in one economy having control
or a significant degree of influence on the management of
an enterprise resident in another economy. Ownership or
control of 10 percent or more of the voting securities of an
entity in another economy is the threshold for separating
direct investment from other types of investment. Direct
investment positions include positions in equity and debt
instruments. BEA’s IIP statistics feature the market value
measure of direct investment positions, a measure that
values owner’s equity at current-period prices using
indexes of stock market prices.

The U.S. net international investment position is defined
as the value of U.S. assets less the value of U.S. liabilities.
Financial transactions are transactions between U.S.
residents and nonresidents in financial assets and
liabilities. They are also recorded in the financial account
of the international transactions accounts (ITAs). See
Related Statistics below.
Other changes in position are changes in the value of U.S.
assets or liabilities arising from any source besides a
financial transaction. Other changes in position include
price changes, exchange-rate changes, and changes in
volume and valuation not included elsewhere (n.i.e.).

Portfolio investment consists of cross-border positions
involving equity and investment fund shares and debt
securities, excluding those included in direct investment or
reserve assets. Debt securities are classified by original
maturity (short term vs. long term at the time of issue).

–4–

Financial derivatives other than reserves consist of crossborder positions arising from financial contracts that are
linked to underlying financial instruments, commodities, or
indicators. Positions in financial derivatives consist of
contracts with positive and negative fair values. A contract
with a positive fair value is a U.S. asset and represents the
amount that a foreign resident would have to pay to a U.S.
counterparty if the contract were terminated or settled. A
contract with a negative fair value is a U.S. liability and
represents the amount that a U.S. resident would have to
pay to a foreign counterparty if the contract were
terminated or settled. The gross positive (negative) fair
value is the sum across all contracts with positive
(negative) fair values. Fair values differ from notional
values, which are the underlying amounts used to
calculate payments on contracts. Gross positive and gross
negative fair values for financial derivatives positions are
available separately in table 1. However, transactions and
other changes in financial derivatives positions are only
available for the net position in financial derivatives. For
other changes in position for financial derivatives
presented in the June news release, statistics are not
separately available for price changes, exchange-rate
changes, and changes in volume and valuation n.i.e.

Release and update schedule
Preliminary quarterly IIP account statistics are released in
March, June, September, and December, approximately 90
days after the end of the reference quarter. These
statistics are updated the following quarter to incorporate
new and revised source data. Quarterly statistics are open
for revision for at least the prior three years in annual
updates released in June. Preliminary annual statistics are
released in March reflecting positions at the end of the
fourth quarter of the previous year. These annual statistics
are open for revision for at least the prior three years in
subsequent annual updates.

Related statistics
The IIP statistics comprise one part of a broader set of U.S.
international economic accounts that, taken together,
provide a comprehensive, integrated and detailed picture
of U.S. international economic activities.
The international transactions accounts (ITAs) are released
quarterly. Financial transactions reported in the financial
account of the ITAs are one type of change in position
recorded in the IIP. Financial transactions are transactions
between U.S. residents and nonresidents for direct
investment, portfolio investment, other investment,
reserve assets, and financial derivatives.

Other investment includes cross-border positions other
than those included in direct investment, portfolio
investment, financial derivatives, and reserve assets. Other
investment positions consist of positions in currency and
deposits, loans, insurance technical reserves, trade credit
and advances, and, for liabilities, special drawing rights
allocations.

Statistics on direct investment and multinational
enterprises (MNEs) include annual statistics on the
activities of MNEs, detailed annual and quarterly statistics
on direct investment, and annual statistics on new
investment in the United States.

Reserve assets are those external assets that are readily
available to and controlled by U.S. monetary authorities
for meeting balance of payments financing needs, for
intervention in exchange markets to affect the currency
exchange rate, and for other related purposes such as
maintaining confidence in the currency and the economy
and serving as a basis for foreign borrowing. The major
published components are monetary gold, International
Monetary Fund (IMF) special drawing rights (SDRs),
reserve position in the IMF, and other reserve assets.

Statistics on international services include detailed annual
information on trade in services and on services supplied
through the channel of direct investment by affiliates of
multinational enterprises.
U.S. international trade in goods and services, released by
BEA and the U.S. Census Bureau, provides monthly
statistics on trade in goods and services.

List of News Release Tables
Table 1. U.S. Net International Investment Position at the End of the Period

–5–

September 27, 2017

Table 1. U.S. Net International Investment Position at the End of the Period
[Billions of dollars, not seasonally adjusted]
Line

2016

Type of investment
I

1 U.S. net international investment position (line 4 less line 35)............................................. -7,833.4
2 Net international investment position excluding financial derivatives (line 5 less line 36)...... -7,871.1
3 Financial derivatives other than reserves, net (line 6 less line 37).........................................
37.7
4 U.S. assets............................................................................................................................. 24,090.4
5
Assets excluding financial derivatives (sum of lines 7, 10, 21, and 26)............................... 21,050.6
6
Financial derivatives other than reserves, gross positive fair value (line 15).......................
3,039.8
By functional category:
7
Direct investment at market value........................................................................................
7,036.1
8
Equity................................................................................................................................
5,818.9
9
Debt instruments................................................................................................................
1,217.2
10
Portfolio investment............................................................................................................
9,560.3
11
Equity and investment fund shares....................................................................................
6,665.3
12
Debt securities...................................................................................................................
2,895.0
13
Short term........................................................................................................................
535.7
14
Long term........................................................................................................................
2,359.2
15
Financial derivatives other than reserves, gross positive fair value....................................
3,039.8
16
Over-the-counter contracts................................................................................................
2,990.9
17
Single-currency interest rate contracts............................................................................
2,427.6
18
Foreign exchange contracts............................................................................................
379.1
19
Other contracts................................................................................................................
184.2
20
Exchange-traded contracts................................................................................................
48.9
21
Other investment.................................................................................................................
4,022.2
22
Currency and deposits.......................................................................................................
1,709.1
23
Loans.................................................................................................................................
2,265.0
24
Insurance technical reserves.............................................................................................
n.a.
25
Trade credit and advances................................................................................................
48.1
26
Reserve assets...................................................................................................................
432.0
27
Monetary gold...................................................................................................................
323.5
28
Special drawing rights........................................................................................................
50.5
29
Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund........................................................
16.7
30
Other reserve assets.........................................................................................................
41.3
31
Currency and deposits.....................................................................................................
19.3
32
Securities.........................................................................................................................
22.1
33
Financial derivatives........................................................................................................
.....
34
Other claims....................................................................................................................
0.0
35 U.S. liabilities.......................................................................................................................... 31,923.9
36
Liabilities excluding financial derivatives (sum of lines 38, 41, and 56)............................... 28,921.8
37
Financial derivatives other than reserves, gross negative fair value (line 50)......................
3,002.1
By functional category:
38
Direct investment at market value........................................................................................
6,861.9
39
Equity................................................................................................................................
5,182.5
40
Debt instruments................................................................................................................
1,679.4
41
Portfolio investment............................................................................................................ 16,880.1
42
Equity and investment fund shares....................................................................................
6,138.1
43
Debt securities................................................................................................................... 10,742.0
44
Short term........................................................................................................................
948.8
45
Treasury bills and certificates........................................................................................
726.6
46
Other short-term securities............................................................................................
222.2
47
Long term........................................................................................................................
9,793.1
48
Treasury bonds and notes.............................................................................................
5,559.9
49
Other long-term securities.............................................................................................
4,233.2
50
Financial derivatives other than reserves, gross negative fair value...................................
3,002.1
51
Over-the-counter contracts................................................................................................
2,950.9
52
Single-currency interest rate contracts............................................................................
2,366.3
53
Foreign exchange contracts............................................................................................
398.1
54
Other contracts................................................................................................................
186.6
55
Exchange-traded contracts................................................................................................
51.2
56
Other investment.................................................................................................................
5,179.8
57
Currency and deposits.......................................................................................................
2,912.4
58
Loans.................................................................................................................................
2,045.2
59
Insurance technical reserves.............................................................................................
n.a.
60
Trade credit and advances................................................................................................
172.4
61
Special drawing rights allocations......................................................................................
49.8
p Preliminary r Revised n.a. Not available ..... Not applicable
Note: Details may not add to totals because of rounding. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

–6–

II

2017
III

IV

-8,292.1 -8,035.9 -8,318.4
-8,347.9 -8,089.5 -8,379.7
55.8
53.6
61.3
24,558.4 24,839.3 23,849.4
21,262.3 22,066.3 21,640.5
3,296.1
2,773.0
2,209.0

r

p

I
II
-8,091.6 -7,934.9
-8,133.3 -7,972.0
41.6
37.1
24,933.4 25,937.6
22,986.7 24,006.3
1,946.7
1,931.3

Change:
2017:I to
2017:II

Line

156.7
161.3
-4.6
1,004.2
1,019.6
-15.4

1
2
3
4
5
6

7,002.4
7,392.2
7,375.0
7,895.4
8,202.0
5,779.9
6,146.7
6,172.3
6,608.5
6,918.1
1,222.5
1,245.5
1,202.7
1,286.9
1,283.9
9,655.4 10,084.7
9,879.2 10,591.6 11,210.6
6,723.6
7,144.8
6,997.0
7,568.6
8,075.2
2,931.9
2,939.8
2,882.2
3,023.0
3,135.4
512.9
467.0
462.3
506.0
541.5
2,418.9
2,472.8
2,419.9
2,517.0
2,594.0
3,296.1
2,773.0
2,209.0
1,946.7
1,931.3
3,230.6
2,723.8
2,166.9
1,911.3
1,893.8
2,635.1
2,273.6
1,622.2
1,478.4
1,428.3
422.4
282.8
386.7
272.4
297.3
173.1
167.3
158.0
160.4
168.2
65.6
49.2
42.1
35.4
37.6
4,150.1
4,132.3
3,978.9
4,066.6
4,157.9
1,731.9
1,643.7
1,559.8
1,602.0
1,626.0
2,372.5
2,440.9
2,373.7
2,415.2
2,481.7
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
45.7
47.7
45.4
49.3
50.2
454.4
457.1
407.2
433.1
435.7
345.4
345.8
301.1
325.5
324.8
50.2
50.1
48.9
49.3
50.6
16.7
18.3
18.4
18.3
18.8
42.1
42.9
38.9
39.9
41.4
20.9
23.5
17.7
20.2
22.6
21.2
19.3
21.1
19.7
18.7
.....
.....
.....
.....
.....
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
32,850.6 32,875.2 32,167.8 33,025.0 33,872.5
29,610.2 30,155.8 30,020.1 31,120.0 31,978.2
3,240.3
2,719.4
2,147.7
1,905.1
1,894.3

306.6
309.6
-3.0
619.0
506.6
112.4
35.4
77.0
-15.4
-17.5
-50.1
24.9
7.8
2.1
91.4
24.0
66.5
n.a.
0.9
2.6
-0.7
1.3
0.6
1.4
2.4
-1.0
.....
0.0
847.5
858.3
-10.8

7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37

7,122.7
7,423.9
7,569.3
7,952.4
8,162.1
5,377.2
5,607.2
5,783.5
6,152.6
6,353.0
1,745.5
1,816.7
1,785.8
1,799.8
1,809.1
17,151.3 17,511.6 17,352.3 17,908.3 18,451.0
6,184.4
6,488.6
6,564.0
7,001.9
7,195.3
10,966.9 11,023.0 10,788.4 10,906.4 11,255.7
925.7
953.7
945.9
942.0
979.8
688.2
698.8
672.4
673.0
698.8
237.5
254.9
273.5
269.0
281.1
10,041.2 10,069.3
9,842.5
9,964.4 10,275.8
5,593.0
5,459.3
5,333.9
5,406.0
5,472.8
4,448.3
4,610.0
4,508.6
4,558.4
4,803.0
3,240.3
2,719.4
2,147.7
1,905.1
1,894.3
3,178.6
2,669.3
2,104.6
1,867.9
1,852.8
2,567.4
2,204.2
1,568.1
1,418.5
1,372.0
429.6
289.6
366.8
280.4
305.3
181.6
175.6
169.6
169.0
175.5
61.7
50.0
43.1
37.2
41.5
5,336.2
5,220.3
5,098.6
5,259.2
5,365.1
3,003.1
2,941.0
2,949.8
3,020.3
3,132.2
2,107.6
2,056.9
1,925.8
2,006.7
1,999.0
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
176.0
173.2
175.5
184.2
184.8
49.4
49.3
47.5
47.9
49.1

209.7
200.4
9.3
542.7
193.4
349.3
37.8
25.7
12.1
311.4
66.8
244.7
-10.8
-15.1
-46.5
24.9
6.5
4.3
105.9
111.9
-7.8
n.a.
0.6
1.2

38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61