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International Accounts Q1 2020 Final

Balance of International Payments

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Current account deficit of €14.6bn in Quarter 1 2020

Table 1.1 Balance of International Payments				€ million
	Merchandise Balance	Services and Income Balance	Current Account Balance	Current Account Balance as % of GDP
Q1 2019	30,224	-21,071	9,153	10.8
Q1 2020	34,409	-48,965	-14,557	-16.0

Q1-Q4 2018	109,132	-89,514	19,617	6.0
Q1-Q4 2019	119,125	-159,529	-40,404	-11.3

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q1 2020 Table 1.1 (XLS 11KB)

The Balance of Payments current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, showed a deficit of €14.6bn in the first quarter of 2020. Large imports of intellectual property in the quarter, similar to Q2 and Q4 2019 have put the account in deficit.

	Current Account
Q4 2017	15.7108563131582
Q1 2018	14.0150354374873
Q2 2018	13.8390941460721
Q3 2018	12.9536795807672
Q4 2018	-15.8463385447228
Q1 2019	10.7772509840293
Q2 2019	-38.3864861688368
Q3 2019	12.452669962882
Q4 2019	-30.7250927111529
Q1 2020	-16.0401559001273

	Merchandise	Services	Primary Income	Secondary Income	Balance on Current Account
Q4 2017	30.723	-1.571	-15.63	-0.694	12.827
Q1 2018	28.412	0.608	-16.866	-0.991	11.163
Q2 2018	28.044	-0.017	-16.155	-1.076	10.795
Q3 2018	27.258	1.279	-16.675	-0.846	11.016
Q4 2018	25.418	-18.214	-19.753	-0.808	-13.357
Q1 2019	30.224	-0.079	-19.668	-1.324	9.153
Q2 2019	28.1	-38.931	-21.111	-0.66	-32.602
Q3 2019	31.604	0.996	-20.096	-0.895	11.609
Q4 2019	29.197	-37.317	-19.751	-0.693	-28.564
Q1 2020	34.409	-28.156	-19.728	-1.081	-14.557

Other points of note in the Quarter 1 2020 results are:

Current account (see Table 1.3)

Merchandise exports were €59,452m in the first quarter of 2020, an increase of €2,953m compared with the first quarter of 2019. Merchandise imports were €25,043m in the first quarter of 2020, a decrease of €1,232m over the same period in 2019.
Service exports at €52,712m increased by €4,432m compared to the first quarter of 2019, mainly due to higher computer services exports (which increased by €4,356m).
Service imports at €80,868m were up €32,509m over the same period in 2019 due to the increased R&D related intellectual property imports.
Ireland’s trade balance at €6,252m, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, decreased by €23,893m in the first quarter of 2020 over the same period in 2019.
Investment income earned abroad at €25,945m, increased by €285m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to foreign investors at €45,910m increased by €356m. The overall income balance for the quarter at -€20,809m increased by €183m compared with the same period in 2019.

	Direct Investment	Portfolio Investment	Other Investment	Reserve Assets	Balance on Financial Account
Q4 2017	-31.389	-1.059	47.706	0.102	15.36
Q1 2018	16.74	19.365	-33.684	-0.022	2.399
Q2 2018	11.434	-16.041	19.784	0.005	15.181
Q3 2018	15.206	8.493	-15.738	0.209	8.17
Q4 2018	-21.605	25.783	-62.669	0.578	-57.913
Q1 2019	6.121	10.265	-5.096	0.002	11.291
Q2 2019	-56.32	-9.936	9.38	0.121	-56.754
Q3 2019	-5.398	-6.617	16.685	0.125	4.795
Q4 2019	-31.71	35.461	-29.574	0.181	-25.641
Q1 2020	-14.702	-83.137	73.562	0.138	-24.138

Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)

Direct investment in Ireland increased by €4,076m in the first quarter of 2020. This was due to equity investment of €7,516m and reinvested earnings of €9,844m which were offset by a decrease in other capital of €13,284m. Direct investment abroad decreased by €10,626m in the quarter, mainly due to decreased other capital investment abroad of €26,099m.
Portfolio investment in foreign assets decreased by €113,863m in the quarter. Investment in foreign equity decreased by €11,680m while investment in foreign debt instruments decreased by €102,182m. Portfolio investment in Ireland decreased by €30,726m, mainly due to decreased purchase of Irish equity of €39,726m.
Other investment assets and liabilities increased by €178,561m and €104,998m respectively in the first quarter of 2020 due to a significant increase in both IFSC enterprise assets and liabilities.

Table 1.2 Summary of Current, Capital and Financial Account Balances

Table 1.2 Summary of Current, Capital and Financial Account Balances														€ million
Period							Balance on Current Account	Balance on Capital Account	Direct Investment	Portfolio Investment	Other²Investment	Reserve Assets	Balance on Financial Account	Net errors and omissions
		Merchandise¹	services and income balance
			Services	Primary Income	Secondary Income	Total
2002	Year	36,982	-13,619	-21,910	-1,116	-36,645	337	588	-19,444	37,979	-19,425	-343	-1,233	-2,158
2003	Year	32,954	-10,903	-20,035	-1,303	-32,241	713	445	-15,270	39,977	-22,751	-1,770	186	-972
2004	Year	34,588	-12,141	-21,345	-1,255	-34,741	-153	355	23,095	-14,287	-12,170	-1,177	-4,539	-4,741
2005	Year	32,184	-13,655	-22,786	-1,769	-38,210	-6,026	340	37,660	-52,698	15,364	-1,472	-1,147	4,539
2006	Year	27,194	-12,313	-22,723	-2,063	-37,099	-9,905	299	15,841	-8,135	-16,635	-87	-9,016	590
2007	Year	28,698	-12,384	-26,630	-2,510	-41,524	-12,826	115	-1,621	7,283	-20,086	12	-14,413	-1,702
2008	Year	32,622	-16,468	-25,141	-2,729	-44,339	-11,716	119	23,288	45,749	-85,932	78	-16,817	-5,220
2009	Year	38,752	-15,823	-27,885	-2,948	-46,656	-7,904	14	-245	-22,626	19,433	-79	-3,517	4,373
2010	Year	41,288	-13,421	-27,178	-2,701	-43,300	-2,012	91	-16,318	-85,965	90,883	-5	-11,404	-9,484
2011	Year	41,257	-9,096	-32,312	-2,660	-44,067	-2,810	234	-18,698	-26,908	31,086	-329	-14,849	-12,272
2012	Year	36,896	-6,282	-33,939	-2,609	-42,830	-5,934	86	-20,497	-767	10,952	-12	-10,324	-4,476
2013	Year	34,506	-718	-28,069	-2,931	-31,718	2,787	-936	-16,137	35,737	-15,467	10	4,143	2,289
2014	Year	40,731	-5,546	-30,341	-2,750	-38,637	2,093	-6,769	-5,279	-27,862	20,506	136	-12,498	-7,824
2015	Year	113,394	-37,715	-60,785	-3,338	-101,838	11,556	-1,303	-44,510	-88,281	138,621	494	6,321	-3,930
2016	Year	106,088	-63,735	-49,912	-3,813	-117,460	-11,373	-4,331	-8,430	27,711	-29,073	1,456	-8,335	7,368
2017	Year	109,119	-43,491	-61,063	-3,106	-107,660	1,457	-25,855	-48,583	-57,643	89,127	399	-16,700	7,697
2018	Year	109,132	-16,344	-69,449	-3,721	-89,514	19,617	-52,019	21,775	37,600	-92,307	770	-32,163	240
2019	Year	119,125	-75,331	-80,626	-3,572	-159,529	-40,404	-35,139	-87,307	29,173	-8,605	429	-66,309	9,235

2015	Quarter 1	26,790	-5,794	-16,013	-986	-22,793	3,998	-707	38,272	-72,519	36,581	108	2,441	-849
	Quarter 2	26,894	-8,024	-11,422	-794	-20,240	6,654	-226	-2,591	13,757	-9,476	307	1,996	-4,432
	Quarter 3	29,755	-7,431	-17,792	-593	-25,816	3,939	100	9,983	-17,663	14,477	-24	6,773	2,735
	Quarter 4	29,955	-16,466	-15,558	-965	-32,989	-3,035	-470	-90,174	-11,856	97,039	103	-4,889	-1,384
2016	Quarter 1	27,290	-14,564	-11,001	-1,020	-26,585	705	-2,670	12,279	-7,497	1,420	1,095	7,297	9,262
	Quarter 2	24,440	-16,885	-11,342	-768	-28,995	-4,555	-586	-293	2,933	-14,069	-224	-11,653	-6,513
	Quarter 3	26,315	-12,294	-14,425	-820	-27,539	-1,224	161	-10,522	10,385	-7,662	379	-7,420	-6,357
	Quarter 4	28,043	-19,992	-13,144	-1,205	-34,341	-6,299	-1,236	-9,894	21,890	-8,762	206	3,441	10,976
2017	Quarter 1	25,187	-3,437	-15,139	-616	-19,192	5,994	-8,538	-2,307	-15,609	6,190	-101	-11,827	-9,283
	Quarter 2	24,546	-38,743	-16,392	-1,170	-56,305	-31,759	-12,079	-21,375	-41,427	28,371	163	-34,268	9,570
	Quarter 3	28,663	260	-13,902	-626	-14,268	14,395	-4,640	6,488	452	6,860	235	14,035	4,279
	Quarter 4	30,723	-1,571	-15,630	-694	-17,895	12,827	-598	-31,389	-1,059	47,706	102	15,360	3,131
2018	Quarter 1	28,412	608	-16,866	-991	-17,249	11,163	-109	16,740	19,365	-33,684	-22	2,399	-8,655
	Quarter 2	28,044	-17	-16,155	-1,076	-17,248	10,795	59	11,434	-16,041	19,784	5	15,181	4,327
	Quarter 3	27,258	1,279	-16,675	-846	-16,242	11,016	63	15,206	8,493	-15,738	209	8,170	-2,909
	Quarter 4	25,418	-18,214	-19,753	-808	-38,775	-13,357	-52,032	-21,605	25,783	-62,669	578	-57,913	7,477
2019	Quarter 1	30,224	-79	-19,668	-1,324	-21,071	9,153	-6,771	6,121	10,265	-5,096	2	11,291	8,910
	Quarter 2	28,100	-38,931	-21,111	-660	-60,702	-32,602	-17,302	-56,320	-9,936	9,380	121	-56,754	-6,850
	Quarter 3	31,604	996	-20,096	-895	-19,995	11,609	-5,141	-5,398	-6,617	16,685	125	4,795	-1,673
	Quarter 4	29,197	-37,317	-19,751	-693	-57,761	-28,564	-5,925	-31,710	35,461	-29,574	181	-25,641	8,848
2020	Quarter 1	34,409	-28,156	-19,728	-1,081	-48,965	-14,557	-4,820	-14,702	-83,137	73,562	138	-24,138	-4,760
¹Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.
²Includes financial derivatives and also life insurance liabilities to non-residents. Occasionally includes large capital transactions which cannot be shown in the Capital Account Balance due to confidentiality constraints.

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q1 2020 Table 1.2 (XLS 16KB)

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Table 1.3 Current and Capital Accounts

Table 1.3 Current and Capital Accounts												€ million
		2018	2019	2018				2019				2020
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1
Current Account
Merchandise¹	Exports	211,444	227,497	50,317	52,513	52,634	55,980	56,499	54,444	57,406	59,148	59,452
	Imports	102,312	108,372	21,905	24,469	25,376	30,562	26,275	26,344	25,802	29,951	25,043

International trade	Exports	140,594	152,679	33,835	35,542	34,146	37,071	37,559	38,511	37,630	38,979	42,339
	Imports	89,189	87,702	19,490	21,245	22,525	25,929	21,203	21,364	21,093	24,042	21,183
Goods for processing	Exports	63,895	68,468	14,793	14,938	16,711	17,453	16,911	13,966	18,678	18,913	14,596
	Imports	10,215	16,769	1,936	2,417	2,127	3,735	4,015	4,145	3,505	5,104	3,104
Other conceptual adjustments	Exports	-3,640	-7,128	-849	-439	-700	-1,652	-599	-1,059	-2,477	-2,993	-761
	Imports	2,907	3,900	479	807	724	897	1,056	835	1,204	805	755
Merchanting (net export)	Exports	10,596	13,477	2,539	2,472	2,477	3,108	2,627	3,026	3,575	4,249	3,277

Services	Exports	188,454	221,370	41,416	45,858	47,937	53,243	48,280	54,768	55,723	62,599	52,712
	Imports	204,799	296,702	40,807	45,875	46,659	71,458	48,359	93,699	54,727	99,917	80,868
Repairs and Processing	Exports	1,899	2,477	439	463	430	567	597	621	588	671	641
	Imports	5,428	6,603	976	1,093	1,281	2,078	1,637	1,405	1,479	2,082	1,601
Transport	Exports	7,746	8,041	1,238	2,112	2,832	1,564	1,151	2,189	2,961	1,740	1,085
	Imports	3,065	3,281	664	716	742	943	792	801	795	893	748
Tourism and Travel ²	Exports	5,760	5,739	989	1,581	1,939	1,251	952	1,621	1,941	1,225	769
	Imports	6,399	7,288	1,239	1,585	2,110	1,465	1,454	1,851	2,418	1,565	1,227
Insurance	Exports	9,535	9,905	2,514	2,400	2,274	2,347	2,361	2,418	2,440	2,686	2,656
	Imports	7,983	8,141	2,125	2,012	1,911	1,935	2,178	1,993	2,097	1,873	2,361
Financial services	Exports	15,354	16,867	3,950	3,860	3,777	3,767	4,053	4,067	4,198	4,549	3,667
	Imports	13,924	15,501	3,556	3,494	3,458	3,416	3,669	3,700	3,845	4,287	3,633
Royalties/Licences	Exports	12,150	10,614	2,626	3,388	3,116	3,020	2,105	2,654	2,688	3,167	1,985
	Imports	72,494	84,260	16,453	18,051	18,064	19,926	18,689	20,432	21,254	23,885	18,727
of which: Pharmaceutical products and preparations	Exports	403	143	114	99	97	93	38	39	33	33	13
	Imports	16,556	20,888	3,789	4,521	3,954	4,292	4,323	5,846	5,264	5,455	2,884
Information and communication	Exports	6,312	4,788	1,574	1,947	1,585	1,206	1,052	1,252	1,238	1,246	1,036
	Imports	40,732	50,650	8,859	9,864	10,260	11,749	11,104	11,670	*	*	*
Communications	Exports	411	336	111	106	102	92	91	90	82	73	71
	Imports	571	456	139	139	145	148	128	113	116	99	59
Computer services³	Exports	93,075	117,099	20,030	21,984	22,890	28,171	26,085	28,730	28,433	33,851	30,441
	Imports	5,344	4,540	1,062	1,344	1,341	1,597	1,067	1,057	1,197	1,219	1,199
Business services	Exports	36,638	43,792	8,165	8,544	9,033	10,896	10,135	10,653	10,739	12,265	10,317
	Imports	88,826	165,812	14,404	17,251	17,416	39,755	18,544	62,144	21,321	63,803	51,097
Research and development	Exports	3,130	5,041	637	624	607	1,262	1,077	1,067	1,159	1,738	1,336
	Imports	37,443	105,081	3,603	4,457	4,938	24,445	4,687	47665	7,001	45728	*
of which: IP related	Exports	740	622	92	*	45	*	85	13	*	*	*
	Imports	19,757	84,059	127	239	149	19242	466	*	1,202	*	*
Operational leasing	Exports	15,405	16,400	3,612	3,718	3,931	4,144	3,942	4,122	4,121	4,215	4,169
	Imports	1,034	967	242	248	276	268	241	243	245	238	208
Misc. business services⁴	Exports	18,103	22,351	3,916	4,202	4,494	5,491	5,115	5,464	5,460	6,312	4,813
	Imports	50,349	59,764	10,559	12,546	12,201	15,043	13,616	14,236	14,075	17,837	*
Other services n.e.s.	Exports	5,886	6,501	1,355	1,420	1,544	1,567	751	1,725	1,654	2,371	1,078
	Imports	762	819	188	189	191	194	200	205	204	210	216

Merchandise and Services - Total	Exports	399,898	448,867	91,733	98,371	100,571	109,223	104,779	109,212	113,129	121,747	112,164
	Imports	307,110	405,073	62,712	70,344	72,034	102,020	74,634	120,043	80,528	129,868	105,911

Trade Balance	Net	92,788	43,793	29,020	28,027	28,537	7,204	30,145	-10,831	32,600	-8,121	6,252

Primary Income	Inflows	87,390	108,801	19,217	24,139	23,923	20,111	26,143	28,098	28,623	25,937	26,453
	Outflows	156,841	189,428	36,083	40,294	40,599	39,865	45,811	49,209	48,720	45,688	46,181
Compensation of Employees	Inflows	528	524	131	131	135	131	131	131	131	131	131
	Outflows	614	674	152	153	153	156	159	167	172	176	180
Investment Income	Inflows	85,297	106,686	18,716	23,634	23,393	19,554	25,660	27,617	28,114	25,295	25,945
	Outflows	155,874	188,260	35,836	40,065	40,365	39,608	45,554	48,839	48,463	45,404	45,910
Direct investment income	Inflows	21,454	20,710	4,638	6,102	6,616	4,098	5,208	4,776	5,897	4,829	6,154
	Outflows	79,569	91,785	19,697	18,574	21,085	20,213	22,870	22,605	24,045	22,265	23,505

of which: Manufacturing	Outflows	46,233	51,893	11,399	10,670	12,609	11,555	14,469	10,064	14,850	12,510	14,925
Information and communication	Outflows	13,025	16,534	3,613	2,717	3,430	3,265	3,628	6,168	2,885	3,853	4,313

Income on equity	Inflows	17,057	17,032	3,868	5,013	5,377	2,799	4,152	3,681	5,022	4,177	5,595
	Outflows	70,664	82,325	17,783	16,436	18,775	17,670	20,704	20,348	21,511	19,762	21,245
Dividends & distributed	Inflows	2,384	1,289	34	*	312	*	151	224	758	156	90
branch profits	Outflows	18,962	19,481	6,905	3,169	4,715	4,173	10,543	1,582	2,847	4,509	11,401
Reinvested earnings	Inflows	14,673	15,742	3,834	*	5,065	*	4,001	3,457	4,264	4,020	5,506
	Outflows	51,703	62,845	10,878	13,268	14,060	13,497	10,162	18,766	18,664	15,253	9,844
Income on debt	Inflows	4,396	3,678	770	1,089	1,239	1,298	1,056	1,095	875	652	559
	Outflows	8,904	9,460	1,914	2,138	2,309	2,543	2,166	2,257	2,534	2,503	2,260
Portfolio investment income	Inflows	51,689	65,041	11,555	14,611	13,410	12,113	15,476	17,459	16,563	15,543	15,202
	Outflows	64,483	80,694	13,655	18,533	16,204	16,091	18,342	22,558	20,564	19,230	19,123
Income on equity	Inflows	16,737	21,116	3,448	5,792	4,410	3,087	4,894	6,768	5,356	4,098	4,254
	Outflows	55,946	63,532	11,595	16,414	14,124	13,813	14,178	18,267	16,174	14,913	14,852
Income on debt	Inflows	34,952	43,926	8,107	8,819	9,000	9,026	10,583	10,691	11,207	11,445	10,947
	Outflows	8,538	17,162	2,061	2,119	2,080	2,278	4,163	4,292	4,390	4,317	4,271
Other investment income	Inflows	12,154	20,935	2,523	2,921	3,367	3,343	4,976	5,382	5,654	4,923	4,589
	Outflows	11,821	15,782	2,483	2,958	3,076	3,304	4,343	3,676	3,854	3,909	3,281
Other primary income	Inflows	1,566	1,588	370	374	395	427	351	349	378	510	377
	Outflows	353	493	95	76	81	101	97	203	85	108	91

Secondary Income	Inflows	5,158	5,003	1,417	1,257	1,200	1,284	1,052	1,039	1,233	1,679	1,472
	Outflows	8,878	8,573	2,407	2,333	2,046	2,092	2,375	1,699	2,128	2,371	2,553

Income Balance	Net	-73,170	-84,198	-17,857	-17,231	-17,521	-20,561	-20,992	-21,771	-20,991	-20,444	-20,809

Current Account - Total	Inflows	492,445	562,670	112,366	123,766	125,695	130,618	131,973	138,349	142,985	149,363	140,088
	Outflows	472,829	603,074	101,203	112,971	114,679	143,976	122,820	170,951	131,376	177,927	154,645

Current Account Balance	Net	19,617	-40,404	11,163	10,795	11,016	-13,357	9,153	-32,602	11,609	-28,564	-14,557

Capital Account Balance	Net	-52,019	-35,139	-109	59	63	-52,032	-6,771	-17,302	-5,141	-5,925	-4,820

Memorandum Item:
Government Income	Inflows	102	101	26	25	23	28	20	41	20	20	14
	Outflows	3,711	3,358	944	941	939	887	887	870	845	756	638
¹Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.
²Under the credit item, passenger fare receipts of resident carriers from foreign visitors are excluded; such receipts are included under transport credits - see Background Notes.
³Covers exports and imports of software that were not incorporated as part of computer hardware or physical media but separately transmitted by electronic means. The value of sales and purchases of additional software licences is also included.
⁴Covers mainly advertising and inter-affiliate management charges.

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Table 1.4 Financial Account

Table 1.4 Financial Account¹												€ million
		2018	2019	2018				2019				2020
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1

Direct Investment	Abroad	8,146	-14,858	-1,781	-34,574	5,681	38,820	8,131	-60,549	27,796	9,764	-10,626
	In Ireland	-13,630	72,448	-18,521	-46,009	-9,525	60,425	2,010	-4,229	33,194	41,473	4,076

Equity	Abroad	-13,723	62,899	-5,445	*	3,323	*	37,055	2,994	-2,816	25,666	9,968
	In Ireland	-61,938	-13,157	-15,080	-54,257	-4,667	12,066	37,851	-41,017	-1,183	-8,808	7,516
Reinvested Earnings	Abroad	14,673	15,742	3,834	*	5,065	*	4,001	3,457	4,264	4,020	5,506
	In Ireland	51,703	62,845	10,878	13,268	14,060	13,497	10,162	18,766	18,664	15,253	9,844
Other Capital	Abroad	7,195	-93,500	-170	24,288	-2,708	-14,215	-32,926	-66,999	26,348	-19,923	-26,099
	In Ireland	-3,394	22,760	-14,319	-5,020	-18,918	34,863	-46,003	18,022	15,713	35,028	-13,284

Portfolio Investment	Assets	130,810	321,381	78,112	11,717	25,963	15,018	44,528	27,087	132,169	117,597	-113,863
	Liabilities	93,210	292,208	58,747	27,758	17,470	-10,765	34,263	37,023	138,786	82,136	-30,726

Equity	Assets	52,521	85,500	27,770	16,267	12,613	-4,129	15,527	5,901	18,991	45,081	-11,680
	Liabilities	86,969	220,620	53,128	27,291	14,564	-8,014	24,361	21,262	100,511	74,486	-39,726
Debt Instruments	Assets	78,289	235,881	50,342	-4,550	13,350	19,147	29,001	21,186	113,178	72,516	-102,182
	Liabilities	6,242	71,588	5,620	467	2,906	-2,751	9,902	15,761	38,275	7,650	9,000
Bonds and notes	Assets	103,639	211,900	43,521	17,749	24,905	17,464	51,864	38,379	64,557	57,100	-36,985
	Liabilities	11,861	68,667	2,753	987	7,931	190	9,668	14,351	36,684	7,964	5,997
Money market instruments	Assets	-25,351	23,980	6,821	-22,300	-11,555	1,683	-22,863	-17,194	48,621	15,416	-65,197
	Liabilities	-5,620	2,919	2,867	-520	-5,025	-2,942	234	1,409	1,590	-314	3,003

Other Investment	Assets	-1,932	114,860	-7,724	46,358	8,859	-49,425	54,657	27,488	56,690	-23,975	178,561
	Liabilities	90,375	123,464	25,960	26,574	24,597	13,244	59,753	18,107	40,005	5,599	104,998

Loans, currency and deposits	Assets	20,233	121,858	12,759	27,369	3,557	-23,452	55,667	16,999	44,631	4,561	116,053
	Liabilities	78,817	67,924	21,344	10,741	10,185	36,547	36,143	5,602	7,925	18,254	56,556
Other²	Assets	-22,164	-6,999	-20,483	18,989	5,302	-25,972	-1,010	10,488	12,059	-28,536	62,508
	Liabilities	11,558	55,540	4,616	15,833	14,412	-23,303	23,610	12,505	32,080	-12,655	48,442

Reserve Assets		770	429	-22	5	209	578	2	121	125	181	138

Monetary gold		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Special drawing rights		14	28	-16	5	15	10	10	8	-19	29	-3
Reserve position in the IMF		-1	-7	-11	10	0	0	0	0	2	-9	4
Foreign exchange		250	66	-14	1	-36	299	127	-102	82	-41	-148
Other		508	343	19	-11	231	269	-136	216	60	203	285

Balance on Financial Account		-32,163	-66,309	2,399	15,181	8,170	-57,913	11,291	-56,754	4,795	-25,641	-24,138

Net errors and omissions		240	9,235	-8,655	4,327	-2,909	7,477	8,910	-6,850	-1,673	8,848	-4,760
Memorandum Item:
Government financial	Assets	14,211	-1,895	-1,095	4,367	9,886	1,053	-1,871	-399	-251	626	-1,261
transactions	Liabilities	17,084	283	5,771	7,549	9,749	-5,985	5,025	-874	51	-3,919	5,363
¹Financial account transactions are categorised under two headings 'Assets' and 'Liabilities' for Portfolio Investment, Other Investment and Reserve Assets. 'For Direct Investment, a 'directional' categorisation is used: 'Abroad' 'indicates direct investment by Irish investors in foreign companies; 'Direct investment into Ireland is indicated by the heading 'In Ireland'.
²Includes financial derivatives; in the case of liabilities this category also includes life insurance liabilities to non-residents. Occasionally includes large capital transactions which cannot be shown in the Capital Account Balance due to confidentiality constraints.

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Table 1.5 Current, Capital and Financial Accounts showing IFSC and non-IFSC activity

Table 1.5 Current, Capital and Financial Accounts showing IFSC¹ and Non–IFSC activity												€ million
		2018	2019	2018				2019				2020
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1
Current Account - Total	Inflows	492,445	562,670	112,366	123,766	125,695	130,618	131,973	138,349	142,985	149,363	140,088
	Outflows	472,829	603,074	101,203	112,971	114,679	143,976	122,820	170,951	131,376	177,927	154,645

Merchandise²	Exports	211,444	227,497	50,317	52,513	52,634	55,980	56,499	54,444	57,406	59,148	59,452
	Imports	102,312	108,372	21,905	24,469	25,376	30,562	26,275	26,344	25,802	29,951	25,043

Services	Exports	188,454	221,370	41,416	45,858	47,937	53,243	48,280	54,768	55,723	62,599	52,712
	Imports	204,799	296,702	40,807	45,875	46,659	71,458	48,359	93,699	54,727	99,917	80,868

IFSC	Exports	42,643	46,430	10,516	10,548	10,519	11,060	11,117	11,483	11,553	12,277	11,685
	Imports	27,606	30,018	7,015	6,967	6,772	6,852	7,308	7,332	7,529	7,849	7,775
Non-IFSC	Exports	145,811	174,941	30,900	35,310	37,418	42,183	37,163	43,285	44,170	50,323	41,028
	Imports	177,192	266,683	33,792	38,907	39,887	64,606	41,051	86,367	47,198	92,067	73,094

Primary Income	Inflows	87,390	108,801	19,217	24,139	23,923	20,111	26,143	28,098	28,623	25,937	26,453
	Outflows	156,841	189,428	36,083	40,294	40,599	39,865	45,811	49,209	48,720	45,688	46,181

IFSC	Inflows	64,903	85,404	14,065	17,670	17,116	16,052	20,404	22,835	22,015	20,150	19,597
	Outflows	73,684	93,617	15,888	19,980	19,058	18,758	22,109	25,181	23,933	22,394	21,299
Non-IFSC	Inflows	22,486	23,397	5,151	6,468	6,808	4,059	5,738	5,263	6,609	5,787	6,856
	Outflows	83,157	95,811	20,195	20,314	21,541	21,107	23,702	24,028	24,787	23,294	24,882

Secondary Income	Inflows	5,158	5,003	1,417	1,257	1,200	1,284	1,052	1,039	1,233	1,679	1,472
	Outflows	8,878	8,573	2,407	2,333	2,046	2,092	2,375	1,699	2,128	2,371	2,553

IFSC³	Inflows	4,025	4,096	1,159	1,001	956	909	817	864	987	1,428	1,267
	Outflows	4,025	4,096	1,159	1,001	956	909	817	864	987	1,428	1,267
Non-IFSC	Inflows	1,133	906	258	256	245	374	235	175	246	250	205
	Outflows	4,853	4,477	1,248	1,332	1,091	1,182	1,558	835	1,141	943	1,286

Balance on Current Account		19,617	-40,404	11,163	10,795	11,016	-13,357	9,153	-32,602	11,609	-28,564	-14,557

Balance on Capital Account		-52,019	-35,139	-109	59	63	-52,032	-6,771	-17,302	-5,141	-5,925	-4,820

Financial Account⁴
Direct investment	Abroad	8,146	-14,858	-1,781	-34,574	5,681	38,820	8,131	-60,549	27,796	9,764	-10,626
	In Ireland	-13,630	72,448	-18,521	-46,009	-9,525	60,425	2,010	-4,229	33,194	41,473	4,076

IFSC	Abroad	-1,082	1,511	-2,889	1,106	549	152	489	-896	-81	1,999	1,271
	In Ireland	-17,149	8,324	-14,703	-3,296	6,435	-5,585	-22,039	1,594	10,867	17,902	-3,222
Non IFSC	Abroad	9,227	-16,369	1,108	-35,681	5,132	38,668	7,642	-59,652	27,877	7,764	-11,897
	In Ireland	3,520	64,123	-3,818	-42,713	-15,960	66,011	24,048	-5,823	22,327	23,571	7,298

Portfolio investment	Assets	130,810	321,381	78,112	11,717	25,963	15,018	44,528	27,087	132,169	117,597	-113,863
	Liabilities	93,210	292,208	58,747	27,758	17,470	-10,765	34,263	37,023	138,786	82,136	-30,726

IFSC	Assets	127,747	316,693	77,188	10,341	25,246	14,972	43,645	27,093	129,436	116,519	-112,992
	Liabilities	90,226	291,085	51,629	22,053	19,111	-2,567	32,512	42,104	139,293	77,176	-39,336
Non-IFSC	Assets	3,063	4,689	924	1,375	718	46	883	-6	2,734	1,078	-871
	Liabilities	2,983	1,122	7,118	5,705	-1,641	-8,199	1,750	-5,081	-507	4,960	8,610

Other investment⁵	Assets	-1,932	114,860	-7,724	46,358	8,859	-49,425	54,657	27,488	56,690	-23,975	178,561
	Liabilities	90,375	123,464	25,960	26,574	24,597	13,244	59,753	18,107	40,005	5,599	104,998

IFSC	Assets	-24,852	78,108	-1,983	23,971	1,343	-48,183	43,959	23,968	39,397	-29,216	179,708
	Liabilities	72,268	123,693	34,377	20,538	2,872	14,481	66,554	17,373	30,891	8,875	110,700
Non-IFSC	Assets	22,919	36,751	-5,741	22,387	7,515	-1,242	10,698	3,519	17,293	5,241	-1,147
	Liabilities	18,109	-230	-8,416	6,037	21,725	-1,237	-6,801	734	9,114	-3,277	-5,702

Reserve Assets		770	429	-22	5	209	578	2	121	125	181	138

Balance on Financial Account		-32,163	-66,309	2,399	15,181	8,170	-57,913	11,291	-56,754	4,795	-25,641	-24,138
Net errors and omissions		240	9,235	-8,655	4,327	-2,909	7,477	8,910	-6,850	-1,673	8,848	-4,760
¹From the start of 2000, new international financial service projects are no longer subject to the earlier certification and licensing procedures in operation for location in the IFSC and such projects can, therefore, locate anywhere in Ireland. Additions to existing IFSC projects, however, are still subject to the formal procedures. For statistical analysis purposes this table still shows the 'IFSC/non-IFSC' breakdown and the activities of all international financial service enterprises are covered under the IFSC heading.
²Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.
³Secondary income flows to and from IFSC enterprises relate solely to non-life insurance transactions - see Background Notes.
⁴See footnote 1 on Table 1.4.
⁵Includes financial derivatives; in the case of liabilities this category also includes life insurance liabilities to non-residents. Occasionally includes large capital transactions which cannot be shown in the Capital Account Balance due to confidentiality constraints.

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Table 1.6 Current and Capital Accounts showing geographical detail

Table 1.6 Current and Capital Accounts showing geographical¹ detail												€ million
		2018	2019	2018				2019				2020
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1

Current Account - Total	Inflows	492,445	562,670	112,366	123,766	125,695	130,618	131,973	138,349	142,985	149,363	140,088
	Outflows	472,829	603,074	101,203	112,971	114,679	143,976	122,820	170,951	131,376	177,927	154,645

Merchandise²	Exports	211,444	227,497	50,317	52,513	52,634	55,980	56,499	54,444	57,406	59,148	59,452
	Imports	102,312	108,372	21,905	24,469	25,376	30,562	26,275	26,344	25,802	29,951	25,043
EMU	Exports	64,160	63,692	15,355	16,998	16,199	15,608	18,040	15,762	15,120	14,770	15,889
	Imports	33,391	32,846	7,023	8,759	8,877	8,732	7,754	8,209	7,322	9,561	8,022
Non-EMU	Exports	147,284	163,803	34,962	35,515	36,435	40,372	38,459	38,682	42,285	44,377	43,562
	Imports	68,921	75,526	14,882	15,710	16,499	21,830	18,521	18,135	18,480	20,390	17,020
EU	Exports	93,387	92,087	22,187	24,008	23,502	23,690	24,930	22,538	22,187	22,432	17,476
	Imports	60,859	61,997	13,418	15,340	15,734	16,367	15,374	14,924	14,227	17,472	8,928
Non-EU	Exports	118,056	135,410	28,130	28,505	29,131	32,290	31,569	31,906	35,219	36,716	41,976
	Imports	41,452	46,374	8,487	9,129	9,641	14,195	10,901	11,420	11,574	12,479	16,114

Services	Exports	188,454	221,370	41,416	45,858	47,937	53,243	48,280	54,768	55,723	62,599	52,712
	Imports	204,799	296,702	40,807	45,875	46,659	71,458	48,359	93,699	54,727	99,917	80,868
EMU	Exports	47,256	53,727	10,195	11,546	12,294	13,221	11,904	13,808	13,421	14,594	12,520
	Imports	48,084	55,821	10,580	12,080	12,055	13,369	12,320	12,469	14,530	16,502	7,174
Non-EMU	Exports	141,200	167,643	31,221	34,312	35,644	40,023	36,377	40,959	42,302	48,005	40,193
	Imports	156,714	240,881	30,227	33,794	34,604	58,089	36,039	81,230	40,197	83,415	73,695
EU	Exports	88,453	100,814	19,449	21,588	23,002	24,414	22,343	25,336	25,417	27,718	15,488
	Imports	69,032	79,404	15,574	17,181	17,358	18,919	17,627	18,298	20,443	23,036	7,894
Non-EU	Exports	100,002	120,555	21,967	24,270	24,936	28,829	25,937	29,431	30,306	34,881	37,224
	Imports	135,767	217,298	25,234	28,693	29,301	52,539	30,732	75,401	34,284	76,881	72,975

Primary Income	Inflows	87,390	108,801	19,217	24,139	23,923	20,111	26,143	28,098	28,623	25,937	26,453
	Outflows	156,841	189,428	36,083	40,294	40,599	39,865	45,811	49,209	48,720	45,688	46,181
EMU	Inflows	32,000	38,293	7,720	8,297	9,062	6,921	10,085	8,538	9,978	9,692	10,170
	Outflows	49,725	60,162	11,164	12,606	13,107	12,848	14,143	15,613	16,358	14,048	13,651
Non-EMU	Inflows	55,392	70,509	11,497	15,842	14,862	13,191	16,058	19,560	18,646	16,245	16,283
	Outflows	107,116	129,267	24,919	27,688	27,492	27,017	31,668	33,597	32,362	31,640	32,530
EU	Inflows	54,620	67,248	12,944	14,277	15,170	12,229	16,640	16,088	17,522	16,998	11,083
	Outflows	85,252	101,914	18,580	22,561	22,474	21,637	23,780	27,418	27,311	23,405	14,056
Non-EU	Inflows	32,768	41,553	6,272	9,861	8,753	7,882	9,503	12,010	11,101	8,939	15,370
	Outflows	71,590	87,514	17,504	17,733	18,125	18,228	22,030	21,792	21,409	22,283	32,125

Secondary Income	Inflows	5,158	5,003	1,417	1,257	1,200	1,284	1,052	1,039	1,233	1,679	1,472
	Outflows	8,878	8,573	2,407	2,333	2,046	2,092	2,375	1,699	2,128	2,371	2,553
EMU	Inflows	1,570	1,948	438	347	421	364	379	440	413	716	504
	Outflows	2,162	2,542	573	491	580	518	501	597	570	874	662
Non-EMU	Inflows	3,587	3,054	978	910	780	919	672	600	820	962	968
	Outflows	6,717	6,032	1,835	1,842	1,466	1,574	1,874	1,103	1,557	1,498	1,891
EU	Inflows	3,884	3,476	1,038	917	906	1,023	738	770	847	1,121	571
	Outflows	6,828	6,238	1,874	1,796	1,571	1,587	1,880	1,240	1,539	1,579	1,537
Non-EU	Inflows	1,272	1,527	378	340	294	260	314	269	386	558	900
	Outflows	2,049	2,336	533	537	475	504	496	459	589	792	1,016

Balance on Current Account		19,617	-40,404	11,163	10,795	11,016	-13,357	9,153	-32,602	11,609	-28,564	-14,557

Balance on Capital Account		-52,019	-35,139	-109	59	63	-52,032	-6,771	-17,302	-5,141	-5,925	-4,820

¹The term ‘EMU’ means the area represented by the 19 Member States participating in Monetary Union since the enlargement of the Euro area on 1 January 2015 to include Lithuania (EMU-19). For years 2018 and 2019, the term ‘EU’ relates to transactions between residents of Ireland and other residents of the EU-28 area. From Q12020, the term ‘EU’ relates to transactions between residents of Ireland and other residents of the EU-27 area, which excludes the United Kingdom following their withdrawal from the European Union on 1 February 2020.
²Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.

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Table 1.7 Financial Account showing geographical detail

Table 1.7 Financial Account¹ showing geographical² detail												€ million
		2018	2019	2018				2019				2020
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1

Direct Investment	Abroad	8,146	-14,858	-1,781	-34,574	5,681	38,820	8,131	-60,549	27,796	9,764	-10,626
	In Ireland	-13,630	72,448	-18,521	-46,009	-9,525	60,425	2,010	-4,229	33,194	41,473	4,076

EMU	Abroad	-47,230	-13,408	-36,758	-34,824	-2,005	26,357	17,075	-30,879	-10,118	10,514	12,057
	In Ireland	-127,208	76,045	-67,589	-54,970	948	-5,597	68,299	-34,311	29,027	13,030	-29,319
Non-EMU	Abroad	55,375	-1,450	34,977	249	7,685	12,464	-8,944	-29,669	37,914	-751	-22,683
	In Ireland	113,579	-3,595	49,068	8,962	-10,473	66,022	-66,290	30,083	4,168	28,444	33,395
EU	Abroad	-49,705	-14,810	-37,156	-33,286	-979	21,716	22,806	-29,166	-11,629	3,179	12,189
	In Ireland	-171,849	62,788	-94,735	-54,679	-864	-21,571	70,296	-31,676	22,319	1,849	-29,146
Non-EU	Abroad	57,851	-47	35,375	-1,288	6,660	17,104	-14,675	-31,382	39,425	6,585	-22,814
	In Ireland	158,219	9,661	76,214	8,670	-8,661	81,996	-68,286	27,447	10,876	39,624	33,223

Portfolio Investment	Assets	130,810	321,381	78,112	11,717	25,963	15,018	44,528	27,087	132,169	117,597	-113,863
	Liabilities	93,210	292,208	58,747	27,758	17,470	-10,765	34,263	37,023	138,786	82,136	-30,726

EMU	Assets	11,759	100,546	10,707	-4,815	6,582	-715	11,095	10,759	39,696	38,996	-40,503
	Liabilities	57,256	121,668	23,345	15,100	11,387	7,424	932	25,578	64,233	30,925	-10,239
Non-EMU	Assets	119,051	220,836	67,405	16,532	19,381	15,733	33,433	16,328	92,474	78,601	-73,359
	Liabilities	35,954	170,540	35,402	12,659	6,083	-18,190	33,331	11,445	74,553	51,211	-20,487
EU	Assets	36,839	173,247	16,391	4,705	21,491	-5,748	31,586	13,058	71,124	57,479	-42,969
	Liabilities	73,529	264,381	48,015	12,861	11,274	1,379	35,024	30,862	132,013	66,482	-11,084
Non-EU	Assets	93,970	148,134	61,721	7,011	4,472	20,766	12,942	14,029	61,045	60,118	-70,894
	Liabilities	19,681	27,827	10,732	14,897	6,196	-12,144	-761	6,161	6,773	15,654	-19,641

Other Investment³	Assets	-1,932	114,860	-7,724	46,358	8,859	-49,425	54,657	27,488	56,690	-23,975	178,561
	Liabilities	90,375	123,464	25,960	26,574	24,597	13,244	59,753	18,107	40,005	5,599	104,998

EMU	Assets	-3,854	102,986	16,486	18,124	-12,357	-26,107	48,354	8,922	44,793	917	57,138
	Liabilities	15,135	52,528	5,792	7,933	3,348	-1,938	30,939	7,711	12,744	1,134	19,451
Non-EMU	Assets	1,923	11,873	-24,210	28,234	21,216	-23,317	6,303	18,565	11,897	-24,892	121,423
	Liabilities	75,240	70,937	20,168	18,641	21,249	15,182	28,815	10,396	27,261	4,465	85,548
EU	Assets	6,043	107,279	14,252	39,125	-7,618	-39,716	57,170	975	49,624	-490	58,759
	Liabilities	52,748	87,078	19,594	24,292	-1,253	10,115	50,144	10,436	12,205	14,293	19,131
Non-EU	Assets	-7,975	7,580	-21,975	7,233	16,476	-9,709	-2,513	26,512	7,066	-23,485	119,801
	Liabilities	37,629	36,386	6,366	2,283	25,850	3,130	9,609	7,671	27,800	-8,694	85,867

Reserve Assets		770	429	-22	5	209	578	2	121	125	181	138

Balance on Financial Account		-32,163	-66,309	2,399	15,181	8,170	-57,913	11,291	-56,754	4,795	-25,641	-24,138

Net errors and omissions		240	9,235	-8,655	4,327	-2,909	7,477	8,910	-6,850	-1,673	8,848	-4,760
¹See footnote 1 on Table 1.4.
²The term ‘EMU’ means the area represented by the 19 Member States participating in Monetary Union since the enlargement of the Euro area on 1 January 2015 to include Lithuania (EMU-19). For years 2018 and 2019, the term ‘EU’ relates to transactions between residents of Ireland and other residents of the EU-28 area. From Q12020, the term ‘EU’ relates to transactions between residents of Ireland and other residents of the EU-27 area, which excludes the United Kingdom following their withdrawal from the European Union on 1 February 2020.
³Includes financial derivatives; in the case of liabilities this category also includes life insurance liabilities to non-residents. Occasionally includes large capital transactions which cannot be shown in the Capital Account Balance due to confidentiality constraints.

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International Accounts Q1 2020 Final

Balance of International Payments

Balance of International Payments

Current account deficit of €14.6bn in Quarter 1 2020

Current account (see Table 1.3)

Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)

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