FOR WIRE TRANSMISSION: 10:00 A.M. EDT, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1996
Lori A. Trawinski: (202) 606-9585 BEA 96-39
Recorded Message: 606-5362
U.S. International Transactions: Third Quarter 1996
Current account
The U.S. current-account deficit increased to $48.0 billion in
the third quarter from $40.2 billion (revised) in the second
quarter, according to preliminary estimates of the Commerce
Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis. The increase was
accounted for by increases in the deficits on goods and services
and on investment income.
Goods and services
The deficit on goods and services increased to $33.8 billion
in the third quarter from $28.6 billion in the second.
Goods The deficit on goods increased to $51.6 billion in the
third quarter from $47.0 billion in the second.
Goods exports decreased to $149.9 billion from $153.1 billion.
Nonagricultural exports accounted for virtually all of the decrease.
Goods imports increased to $201.5 billion from $200.1 billion.
Both petroleum and nonpetroleum imports increased.
Services The surplus on services decreased to $17.8 billion in
the third quarter from $18.4 billion in the second.
Service receipts decreased to $55.6 billion from $55.9 billion.
Decreases in travel and in passenger fares more than offset an
increase in "other" private services.
Service payments increased to $37.8 billion from $37.5 billion.
Increases in royalties and license fees (which included payments for
broadcast rights to the Summer Olympics) and in "other" private
services more than offset decreases in travel and in passenger
fares.
Investment income
The deficit on investment income increased to $4.7 billion in
the third quarter from $2.3 billion in the second.
Income receipts on U.S. assets abroad edged up to $48.3 billion
from $48.0 billion. The increase was almost entirely accounted for
by a rise in "other" private receipts.
Income payments on foreign assets in the United States
increased to $53.0 billion from $50.3 billion. U.S. Government
payments rose strongly, reflecting substantial foreign acquisitions
of U.S. Treasury securities in recent quarters. Direct investment
payments also rose strongly.
Unilateral transfers
Net unilateral transfers were virtually unchanged at $9.4
billion in the third quarter.
Capital transactions
Net recorded capital inflows were $69.3 billion in the third
quarter, compared with $49.8 billion in the second. Acquisitions
of U.S. assets by foreign residents accelerated more than
acquisitions of foreign assets by U.S. residents.
U.S. assets abroad
U.S. assets abroad increased $54.7 billion in the third
quarter, compared with an increase of $50.7 billion in the second.
U.S. claims on foreigners reported by U.S. banks increased
$32.5 billion in the third quarter, following almost no change in
the second. The increase was attributable both to a surge in
banks' domestic customers' claims and an increase in banks' own
claims.
Net U.S. purchases of foreign securities were $21.3 billion
in the third quarter, up from $20.2 billion in the second. The
increase was more than accounted for by a large step up in net U.S.
purchases of foreign bonds. Net U.S. purchases of foreign stocks
decreased sharply.
Net capital outflows for U.S. direct investment abroad were
$8.4 billion in the third quarter, down sharply from $26.2 billion
in the second. The decrease was more than accounted for by a large
shift to net intercompany debt inflows. Reinvested earnings
decreased by a small amount, and net equity capital outflows picked
up.
U.S. official reserve assets decreased $7.5 billion in the
third quarter, in contrast to an increase of $0.5 billion in the
second. The decrease reflected the repayment by Mexico of $7.0
billion under medium-term swap agreements.
Foreign assets in the United States
Foreign assets in the United States increased $124.0 billion
in the third quarter, compared with an increase of $100.5 billion
in the second.
U.S. liabilities to foreigners reported by U.S. banks,
excluding U.S. Treasury securities, increased $0.3 billion in the
third quarter, following an increase of $1.9 billion in the second,
indicating little U.S. demand for funds from overseas.
Net foreign purchases of U.S. Treasury securities were a
record $42.0 billion in the third quarter, up from $31.2 billion in
the second, partly reflecting a shift in investor preferences from
stocks to bonds.
Net foreign purchases of U.S. securities other than U.S.
Treasury securities were $33.0 billion in the third quarter, up
from $29.1 billion in the second. A strong increase in net foreign
purchases of U.S. corporate and other bonds more than offset a
sharp decrease in net foreign purchases of U.S. stocks.
Net capital inflows for foreign direct investment in the
United States were $25.1 billion in the third quarter, up from
$17.4 billion in the second. The increase was mostly accounted for
by a rise in net equity capital inflows. In addition, both net
intercompany debt inflows and reinvested earnings also increased.
Foreign official assets in the United States increased $23.6
billion in the third quarter, following an increase of $13.6
billion in the second. The step-up resulted from increased
accumulation of dollar assets by developing countries.
The statistical discrepancy -- errors and omissions in
recorded transactions -- was an outflow of $21.4 billion in the
third quarter, compared with an outflow of $9.6 billion in the
second.
In the third quarter, the U.S. dollar depreciated 1 percent on
a trade-weighted quarterly average basis against the currencies of
10 industrial countries.
* * *
Release dates in 1997:
Fourth quarter 1996........................March 13 (Thu)
First quarter 1997..........................June 19 (Thu)
Second quarter 1997....................September 11 (Thu)
Third quarter 1997......................December 10 (Wed)
* * *
BEA estimates are available in several forms besides the
printed news releases.
News releases are available at the time of public release
through three subscription services offered by the Commerce
Department's STAT-USA. Information on how to receive releases by
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Internet http://www.stat-usa.gov
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* The Federal Statistics Briefing Room (FSBR) on the White House
web site provides summary statistics for GDP and other major
aggregates on its output, income, and international statistics
pages.
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* The FSBR provides links to BEA's web site, which provides
summary tables and charts on BEA's national, international,
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STAT-USA's Internet subscription service.
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Summary estimates are available on recorded messages at the
time of public release at the following telephone numbers:
(202) 606-5306 Gross domestic product
5303 Personal income and outlays
5362 U.S. international transactions
* * *
Additional data and analysis for the third quarter of 1996
will be published in the January 1997 issue of the Survey of
Current Business, the monthly journal of the Bureau of Economic
Analysis. The Survey is available from the Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
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For further information, call (202) 482-1986.
U.S. International Transactions December 10, 1996
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
1995 1996 Change:
(Credits +, debits -) 1996
1995 I II III IV I IIr IIIp II-III
1 Exports of goods, services, and income ....................... 969,189 233,086 241,497 244,479 250,128 252,647 257,007 253,836 -3,171
2 Goods, adjusted, excluding military 1/...................... 575,940 138,551 142,983 144,984 149,422 150,028 153,095 149,937 -3,158
3 Services 2/................................................. 210,590 50,435 51,735 54,226 54,193 55,122 55,902 55,596 -306
4 Transfers under U.S. military agency sales contracts ..... 13,405 3,155 3,327 3,589 3,334 3,092 3,500 3,510 10
5 Travel.................................................... 61,137 14,762 14,825 15,682 15,867 16,235 16,133 15,651 -482
6 Passenger fares........................................... 18,534 4,248 4,635 4,815 4,836 4,869 4,911 4,814 -97
7 Other transportation...................................... 28,063 6,784 6,951 7,117 7,211 6,965 7,288 7,275 -13
8 Royalties and license fees................................ 26,953 6,309 6,615 7,014 7,015 7,186 7,166 7,161 -5
9 Other private services.................................... 61,724 14,989 15,247 15,743 15,744 16,501 16,747 16,994 247
10 U.S. Government miscellaneous services.................... 775 188 135 266 186 274 157 191 34
11 Income receipts on U.S. assets abroad....................... 182,659 44,100 46,779 45,269 46,513 47,497 48,010 48,303 293
12 Direct investment receipts................................ 88,882 21,452 22,962 21,877 22,592 23,467 23,527 23,531 4
13 Other private receipts.................................... 89,064 21,450 22,421 22,358 22,835 22,806 23,218 23,494 276
14 U.S. Government receipts.................................. 4,713 1,198 1,396 1,034 1,086 1,224 1,265 1,278 13
15 Imports of goods, services, and income........................ -1,082,268 -263,501 -274,183 -273,175 -271,409 -276,612 -287,848 -292,375 -4,527
16 Goods, adjusted, excluding military 1/...................... -749,364 -183,474 -190,910 -187,532 -187,448 -192,758 -200,091 -201,530 -1,439
17 Services 2/................................................. -142,230 -35,027 -35,632 -36,013 -35,558 -36,619 -37,483 -37,837 -354
18 Direct defense expenditures............................... -9,820 -2,527 -2,468 -2,469 -2,356 -2,603 -2,775 -2,800 -25
19 Travel.................................................... -45,855 -11,397 -11,539 -11,377 -11,541 -12,276 -12,132 -11,858 274
20 Passenger fares........................................... -14,313 -3,376 -3,658 -3,716 -3,563 -3,541 -3,567 -3,517 50
21 Other transportation...................................... -29,205 -7,251 -7,380 -7,434 -7,140 -6,890 -7,284 -7,288 -4
22 Royalties and license fees................................ -6,312 -1,496 -1,508 -1,619 -1,690 -1,596 -1,724 -2,187 -463
23 Other private services.................................... -33,970 -8,242 -8,448 -8,698 -8,582 -9,022 -9,389 -9,495 -106
24 U.S. Government miscellaneous services.................... -2,755 -738 -631 -700 -686 -691 -612 -692 -80
25 Income payments on foreign assets in the United States...... -190,674 -45,000 -47,641 -49,630 -48,403 -47,235 -50,274 -53,008 -2,734
26 Direct investment payments................................ -31,418 -7,113 -7,988 -9,062 -7,255 -6,949 -8,717 -9,464 -747
27 Other private payments.................................... -97,977 -23,648 -24,592 -24,761 -24,976 -24,122 -24,725 -25,051 -326
28 U.S. Government payments.................................. -61,279 -14,239 -15,061 -15,807 -16,172 -16,164 -16,832 -18,493 -1,661
29 Unilateral transfers, net..................................... -35,075 -8,639 -8,290 -8,992 -9,154 -10,904 -9,369 -9,422 -53
30 U.S. Government grants...................................... -10,959 -2,846 -2,381 -2,933 -2,799 -4,259 -2,364 -2,502 -138
31 U.S. Government pensions and other transfers................ -3,420 -758 -967 -964 -731 -960 -1,029 -1,034 -5
32 Private remittances and other transfers..................... -20,696 -5,035 -4,942 -5,095 -5,624 -5,685 -5,976 -5,886 90
U.S. International Transactions (Continued) December 10, 1996
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
1995 1996 Change:
(Credits +, debits -) 1996
1995 I II III IV I IIr IIIp II-III
33 U.S. assets abroad, net(increase/capital outflow (-))...................-307,856 -61,747 -108,299 -39,595 -98,214 -68,750 -50,726 -54,676 -3,950
34 U.S. official reserve assets, net..................................... -9,742 -5,318 -2,722 -1,893 191 17 -523 7,489 8,012
35 Gold................................................................ .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
36 Special drawing rights.............................................. -808 -867 -156 362 -147 -199 -133 848 981
37 Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund................. -2,466 -526 -786 -991 -163 -849 -220 -183 37
38 Foreign currencies.................................................. -6,468 -3,925 -1,780 -1,264 501 1,065 -170 6,824 6,994
39 U.S. Government assets, other than official reserve assets, net....... -280 -154 -179 252 -199 -152 -353 72 425
40 U.S. credits and other long term assets............................. -4,640 -1,612 -815 -1,014 -1,199 -1,010 -1,489 -1,108 381
41 Repayments on U.S. credits and other long-term assets............... 4,258 1,063 647 1,523 1,025 1,005 875 1,183 308
42 U.S. foreign currency holdings and U.S. short-term assets, net...... 102 395 -11 -257 -25 -147 261 -3 -264
43 U.S. private assets, net..............................................-297,834 -56,275 -105,398 -37,954 -98,206 -68,615 -49,850 -62,237 -12,387
44 Direct investment................................................... -95,509 -15,053 -18,247 -18,091 -44,117 -23,202 -26,202 -8,441 17,761
45 Foreign securities.................................................. -98,960 -7,571 -23,011 -35,839 -32,539 -34,420 -20,200 -21,314 -1,114
46 U.S. claims on unaffiliated foreigners reported by U.S.
nonbanking concerns............................................ -34,219 -4,537 -22,904 7,500 -14,278 -12,707 -3,374 n.a. n.a.
47 U.S. claims reported by U.S. banks, not included elsewhere.......... -69,146 -29,114 -41,236 8,476 -7,272 1,714 -74 -32,482 -32,408
48 Foreign assets in the United States, net (increase/capital inflow(+))... 424,462 90,995 115,421 118,816 99,229 99,471 100,549 123,999 23,450
49 Foreign official assets in the United States, net..................... 109,757 21,822 37,380 39,186 11,369 52,021 13,566 23,642 10,076
50 U.S. Government securities.......................................... 72,547 11,258 26,534 21,007 13,748 55,652 -2,126 26,552 28,678
51 U.S. Treasury securities.......................................... 68,813 10,132 25,208 20,489 12,984 55,600 -3,384 25,335 28,719
52 Other............................................................. 3,734 1,126 1,326 518 764 52 1,258 1,217 -41
53 Other U.S. Government liabilities................................... 1,082 -331 235 -71 1,249 -156 220 755 535
54 U.S. liabilities reported by U.S. banks, not included elsewhere..... 32,862 10,630 7,662 18,478 -3,908 -3,264 14,187 -2,080 -16,267
55 Other foreign official assets....................................... 3,266 265 2,949 -228 280 -211 1,285 -1,585 -2,870
56 Other foreign assets in the United States, net........................ 314,705 69,173 78,041 79,630 87,860 47,450 86,983 100,357 13,374
57 Direct investment................................................... 60,236 10,788 9,692 24,987 14,768 28,690 17,428 25,149 7,721
58 U.S. Treasury securities............................................ 99,340 29,969 30,368 37,269 1,734 11,832 31,212 41,982 10,770
59 U.S. securities other than U.S. Treasury securities................. 95,268 15,480 20,496 31,971 27,321 35,993 29,122 32,961 3,839
60 U.S. liabilities to unaffiliated foreigners reported by U.S.
nonbanking concerns............................................ 34,578 9,076 7,285 6,945 11,272 6,506 7,296 n.a. n.a.
61 U.S. liabilities reported by U.S. banks, not included elsewhere..... 25,283 3,860 10,200 -21,542 32,765 -35,571 1,925 265 -1,660
62 Allocations of special drawing rights................................... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
63 Statistical discrepancy (sum of above items with sign reversed)......... 31,548 9,806 33,854 -41,533 29,420 4,148 -9,613 -21,362 -11,749
Of which seasonal adjustment discrepancy.............................. .... 6,519 -266 -7,407 1,153 6,279 -801 -8,699 -7,898
Memoranda:
64 Balance on goods (lines 2 and 16).......................................-173,424 -44,923 -47,927 -42,548 -38,026 -42,730 -46,996 -51,593 -4,597
65 Balance on services (lines 3 and 17).................................... 68,360 15,408 16,103 18,213 18,635 18,503 18,419 17,759 -660
66 Balance on goods and services (lines 64 and 65).........................-105,064 -29,515 -31,824 -24,335 -19,391 -24,227 -28,577 -33,834 -5,257
67 Balance on investment income (lines 11 and 25).......................... -8,016 -900 -862 -4,361 -1,890 262 -2,264 -4,705 -2,441
68 Balance on goods, services, and income (lines 1 and 15 or lines 66
and 67) ..............................................................-113,079 -30,415 -32,686 -28,696 -21,281 -23,965 -30,841 -38,539 -7,698
69 Unilateral transfers, net (line 29)..................................... -35,075 -8,639 -8,290 -8,992 -9,154 -10,904 -9,369 -9,422 -53
70 Balance on current account (lines 1, 15, and 29 or lines 68 and 69).....-148,154 -39,054 -40,976 -37,688 -30,435 -34,869 -40,210 -47,961 -7,751
r Revised. p Preliminary. n.a. not available.
1. Adjusted for timing, valuation, and coverage to a balance of payments basis; excludes exports under U.S. military agency sales
contracts and imports of U.S. military agencies.
2. Includes some goods that cannot be separately identified from services.
NOTE:--Details may not add to totals because of rounding. Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis