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 $20.7 billion, or 11.8 percent, to $195.7 billion in the first quarter of 2021. The widening mostly reflected an increased deficit on goods and a reduced surplus on primary income. The first quarter deficit was 3.6 percent of current dollar gross domestic product, up from 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter.
- Exports of goods increased $24.5 billion, to $408.6 billion, while imports of goods increased $39.9 billion, to $677.0 billion.
- Exports of services increased $1.1 billion, to $175.9 billion, while imports of services increased $1.8 billion, to $120.2 billion.
- Receipts of primary income increased $9.6 billion, to $261.7 billion, while payments of primary income increased $13.5 billion, to $211.4 billion.
- Receipts of secondary income increased $1.6 billion, to $42.6 billion, while payments of secondary income increased $2.3 billion, to $75.9 billion.
- Net financial account transactions were −$175.2 billion, reflecting net U.S. borrowing from foreign residents.
All major categories of current account transactions increased in the first quarter of 2021, the third consecutive quarter of broad-based growth following notable COVID-19-related declines in the second quarter of 2020. The effects of the pandemic cannot be separately identified in the statistics. For more information, see U.S. International Transactions, First Quarter 2021 and Annual Update.