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International Accounts Q1 2024 Final

Accounts with the UK and US

Accounts with the UK and the US

Current Accounts with UK and US show deficits

Online ISSN: 2565-6384

CSO statistical publication, 12 July 2024, 11am

Current account with UK shows a deficit of €5bn in Quarter 1 2024

	Merchandise	Services	Income	Current Account
Q4 2021	-1.086	5.187	-3.619	0.482
Q1 2022	-1.531	3.573	-4.112	-2.068
Q2 2022	-1.593	4.51	-5.34	-2.422
Q3 2022	-2.369	4.39	-4.315	-2.295
Q4 2022	-2.367	4.372	-6.152	-4.147
Q1 2023	-2.209	3.862	-5.656	-4.003
Q2 2023	-1.313	3.64	-7.649	-5.323
Q3 2023	-1.889	4.548	-7.221	-4.562
Q4 2023	-2.21	4.704	-7.086	-4.592
Q1 2024	-0.99	3.269	-6.8	-4.521

Current account with UK (See Table 4.1)

Merchandise exports were €7,086m in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of €251m compared with the first quarter of 2023.
Merchandise imports were €8,076m in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of €1,470m compared with the same period in 2023.
Services exports at €11,680m increased by €934m compared to the first quarter of 2023, mainly due to both computer and financial services exports.
Services imports at €8,411m were up €1,527m over that same period in 2023, these figures were affected by increased levels of financial and business services costs.
Investment income earned in UK at €11,419m, increased by €1,489m compared with one year earlier and investment income payable to UK investors at €18,234m increased by €2,636m.
When these effects are combined, the trade balance with the UK has increased by €626m and net income outflows have increased by €1,144m, compared with the first quarter of 2023. The result is a deficit of €4,521m in the first quarter of 2024, compared to -€4,003m over the same period in 2023.

The experimental table on foreign direct investment with UK (See Table 4.2); shows that direct investment in Ireland from the UK has decreased by €417m in the first quarter of 2024 mainly due to a decrease in other capital. Direct investment abroad from Ireland to the UK has also decreased by €672m in the first quarter of 2024.

Table 4.1 Current Account with the UK

Table 4.1 Current Account with the UK													€ million
			2022	2023	2022				2023				2024
Item			Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1
Current Account
Merchandise¹		Exports	30,435	28,254	6,939	7,975	7,630	7,891	7,337	7,660	6,830	6,427	7,086
		Imports	38,295	35,875	8,470	9,568	9,999	10,258	9,546	8,973	8,719	8,637	8,076

	of which: Merchanting (net export)	Exports	4,041	3,008	*	*	1,020	1,014	782	713	792	721	782

Services		Exports	44,978	46,708	10,079	11,269	11,897	11,733	10,746	11,361	12,013	12,588	11,680
		Imports	28,133	29,954	6,506	6,759	7,507	7,361	6,884	7,721	7,465	7,884	8,411
	Transport	Exports	2,901	3,788	344	716	1,174	667	595	1,016	1,404	773	676
		Imports	1,092	1,078	241	254	299	298	288	267	247	276	254
	Tourism and Travel²	Exports	1,121	1,162	117	298	417	289	302	271	360	229	190
		Imports	1,654	2,267	288	400	481	485	426	615	611	615	549
	Insurance	Exports	2,756	2,944	681	716	672	687	686	731	687	840	668
		Imports	1,999	2,202	459	457	571	512	569	576	545	512	483
	Financial services	Exports	7,171	6,702	1,867	1,780	1,904	1,620	1,679	1,582	1,721	1,720	2,102
		Imports	8,145	8,214	2,085	2,023	2,080	1,957	1,941	2,151	2,044	2,078	2,709
	Royalties/Licences	Exports	570	579	118	122	113	217	84	123	146	226	124
		Imports	254	502	61	66	64	63	66	94	*	*	40
	Computer services³	Exports	19,302	20,078	4,518	4,837	4,754	5,193	4,687	4,664	5,066	5,661	5,436
		Imports	515	432	108	126	125	156	106	111	*	*	286
	Business services	Exports	7,523	6,975	1,546	1,852	2,091	2,034	1,739	1,905	1,584	1,747	1,522
		Imports	13,291	14,201	2,972	3,127	3,614	3,578	3,258	3,639	3,366	3,938	3,869
	(of which: Operational leasing)	Exports	902	952	226	218	227	231	249	242	228	233	246
		Imports	132	130	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Other	Exports	3,634	4,478	889	949	771	1,025	975	1,068	1,044	1,391	962
		Imports	1,186	1,059	292	306	275	313	231	268	279	281	222

Merchandise and Services Total		Exports	75,414	74,963	17,018	19,245	19,527	19,624	18,084	19,021	18,843	19,015	18,767
		Imports	66,427	65,829	14,975	16,327	17,506	17,619	16,430	16,694	16,184	16,521	16,487

Trade balance		Net	8,986	9,135	2,043	2,917	2,021	2,005	1,654	2,327	2,659	2,495	2,280

Primary Income		Inflows	26,111	42,282	5,426	6,644	6,792	7,249	9,997	10,422	10,509	11,354	11,486
		Outflows	46,209	69,889	9,583	12,029	11,153	13,444	15,693	18,086	17,747	18,363	18,329
	(of which : Investment Income)	Inflows	25,859	42,014	5,363	6,581	6,729	7,186	9,930	10,355	10,442	11,287	11,419
		Outflows	45,847	69,506	9,494	11,940	11,063	13,350	15,598	17,992	17,653	18,263	18,234
	Direct investment income	Inflows	3,519	5,240	608	1,450	980	481	1,441	1,081	1,041	1,677	1,930
		Outflows	1,195	4,610	140	680	-48	423	636	792	1,585	1,597	1,049
	Portfolio investment income	Inflows	15,420	19,792	3,674	4,012	3,745	3,989	4,742	4,904	4,935	5,211	5,240
		Outflows	41,494	58,857	8,617	10,554	10,246	12,077	13,630	15,776	14,608	14,843	15,301
	Other investment income	Inflows	6,922	16,980	1,082	1,119	2,004	2,717	3,746	4,370	4,466	4,398	4,249
		Outflows	3,158	6,040	738	706	865	849	1,332	1,424	1,461	1,823	1,883

Secondary Income		Inflows	1,755	2,015	367	540	530	318	468	526	537	484	536
		Outflows	1,576	2,020	322	495	484	275	428	511	520	561	493

Income balance		Net	-19,919	-27,612	-4,112	-5,340	-4,315	-6,152	-5,656	-7,649	-7,221	-7,086	-6,800

Current Account - Total		Inflows	103,280	119,259	22,812	26,429	26,848	27,191	28,549	29,969	29,889	30,852	30,789
		Outflows	114,212	137,739	24,880	28,851	29,144	31,337	32,552	35,292	34,451	35,444	35,309

Current Account Balance with UK		Net	-10,932	-18,480	-2,068	-2,422	-2,295	-4,147	-4,003	-5,323	-4,562	-4,592	-4,521
¹Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.
²Under the credit item, passenger fate receipts of resident carriers from foreign visitors are excluded; such receipts are included under transport credits - see Background Notes.
³Covers exports and imports of sofware 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.

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q1 2024 Table 4.1 (XLS 15KB)

Visit Table BPQ35 on PxStat

Visit Table BPQ36 on PxStat

Visit Table BPQ37 on PxStat

Table 4.2 Foreign Direct Investment with the UK

Current account with US shows deficit of €36.6bn in Quarter 1 2024

	Merchandise	Services	Income	Current Account
2015	34.259	-27.238	10.015	17.036
2016	30.81	-33.719	2.388	-0.521
2017	28.058	-28.794	-6.21	-6.946
2018	35.062	-23.565	-5.146	6.351
2019	44.7	-20.674	-4.03	19.996
2020	51.391	-68.178	-1.492	-18.279
2021	41.36	-97.379	-58.254	-114.273
2022	53.187	-127.117	-90.25	-164.18
2023	49.871	-133.842	-54.877	-138.848

Current account with US (See Table 4.3)

Merchandise exports were €17,645m in the first quarter of 2024 an increase of €1,343m compared with the first quarter of 2023.
Merchandise imports were €2,676m in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of €326m compared with the first quarter of 2023.
Services exports at €14,814m increased by €2,777m compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Services imports at €49,567m were up €8,033m over that same period in 2023.
Investment income earned in the US at €20,189m, increased by €4,767m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to US investors at €37,108m decreased by €667m.
When these effects are combined, the trade balance with the US has decreased by €3,587m and net income outflows have decreased by €5,436m, compared with the first quarter of 2023. The result is a current account balance deficit of €36,646m in the first quarter of 2024, up from a deficit of €38,495m in the first quarter of 2023.

These experimental tables showing the Current Account with the US annually and quarterly follow on from our note on Ireland’s Current Account with the US.

Table 4.3 Current Account with US - Annual

Table 4.3 Current Account with US - Annual										€ million
Item		2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Current Account
Merchandise¹	Exports	47,998	47,072	43,001	51,906	63,899	66,269	53,052	65,570	62,020
	Imports	13,739	16,262	14,943	16,844	19,199	14,878	11,692	12,383	12,149
Net Merchandise		34,259	30,810	28,058	35,062	44,700	51,391	41,360	53,187	49,871

of which: International Trade	Exports	26,861	31,898	33,284	39,347	47,281	50,661	52,700	63,286	54,403
	Imports	9,695	12,212	14,398	15,334	14,412	11,475	14,897	18,831	20,889
of which: Goods for Processing	Exports	14,350	14,021	11,489	11,140	14,112	9,669	5,878	789	2,925
	Imports	2,390	1,055	518	1,538	4,697	-1,951	-4,355	-6,608	-9,028

Services	Exports	15,826	17,997	19,851	26,420	37,578	42,795	47,094	47,558	52,755
	Imports	43,064	51,716	48,645	49,985	58,252	110,973	144,473	174,675	186,597
Net Services		-27,238	-33,719	-28,794	-23,565	-20,674	-68,178	-97,379	-127,117	-133,842


Merchandise and Services Total	Exports	63,824	65,069	62,852	78,326	101,477	109,064	100,146	113,128	114,775
	Imports	56,803	67,978	63,588	66,829	77,451	125,851	156,165	187,058	198,746

Trade balance	Net	7,021	-2,909	-736	11,497	24,026	-16,787	-56,019	-73,930	-83,971

Primary Income	Inflows	26,585	19,249	21,794	23,879	29,838	27,737	36,295	45,946	74,116
	Outflows	16,641	16,934	28,138	29,154	34,017	29,371	94,758	136,401	129,163
Net Primary Income		9,944	2,315	-6,344	-5,275	-4,179	-1,634	-58,463	-90,455	-55,047

of which: Investment Income	Inflows	26,530	19,193	21,736	23,820	29,781	27,710	36,279	45,901	74,071
	Outflows	16,626	16,917	28,117	29,140	34,006	29,360	94,747	136,385	129,144
Direct investment income	Inflows	4,476	3,295	2,270	909	2,078	4,194	6,392	6,493	10,244
	Outflows	3,237	3,511	10,803	11,517	11,784	11,075	75,711	111,640	92,151
Portfolio investment income	Inflows	20,166	13,027	16,398	18,760	21,685	20,002	25,030	31,782	41,125
	Outflows	10,389	10,465	13,675	14,349	17,427	14,895	14,287	19,381	28,272
Other investment income	Inflows	1,888	2,871	3,068	4,151	6,018	3,514	4,857	7,626	22,702
	Outflows	3,000	2,941	3,639	3,274	4,795	3,390	4,749	5,364	8,721

Secondary Income	Inflows	542	464	582	526	565	687	347	1,078	980
	Outflows	471	391	448	397	416	545	138	873	810

Income balance	Net	10,015	2,388	-6,210	-5,146	-4,030	-1,492	-58,254	-90,250	-54,877

Current Account - Total	Inflows	90,951	84,782	85,228	102,731	131,880	137,488	136,788	160,152	189,871
	Outflows	73,915	85,303	92,174	96,380	111,884	155,767	251,061	324,332	328,719

Current Account Balance with US	Net	17,036	-521	-6,946	6,351	19,996	-18,279	-114,273	-164,180	-138,848
¹Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q1 2024 Table 4.3 (XLS 12KB)

Table 4.4 Current Account with US - Quarterly

Table 4.4 Current Account with US - Quarterly												€ million
		2022	2023	2022				2023				2024
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1
Current Account
Merchandise¹	Exports	65,569	62,020	18,516	15,183	15,906	15,964	16,302	17,433	17,415	10,870	17,645
	Imports	12,382	12,148	2,432	3,216	3,405	3,329	3,002	1,646	2,365	5,135	2,676
Net Merchandise		53,187	49,872	16,084	11,967	12,501	12,635	13,300	15,787	15,050	5,735	14,969

of which: International Trade	Exports	63,287	54,403	17,487	15,981	14,959	14,860	13,645	13,958	13,431	13,369	15,962
	Imports	18,831	20,889	4,016	5,127	4,915	4,773	4,569	4,731	4,975	6,614	4,076
of which: Goods for Processing	Exports	789	2,925	-950	897	-26	868	106	1,336	970	513	383
	Imports	-6,609	-9,028	-1,603	-1,969	-1,592	-1,445	-1,629	-3,155	-2,722	-1,522	-1,466

Services	Exports	47,559	52,756	11,696	11,649	11,666	12,548	12,037	12,972	13,266	14,481	14,814
	Imports	174,675	186,597	37,907	39,794	45,542	51,432	41,534	42,323	48,264	54,476	49,567
Net Services		-127,116	-133,841	-26,211	-28,145	-33,876	-38,884	-29,497	-29,351	-34,998	-39,995	-34,753


Merchandise and Services Total	Exports	113,128	114,776	30,212	26,832	27,572	28,512	28,339	30,405	30,681	25,351	32,459
	Imports	187,057	198,745	40,339	43,010	48,947	54,761	44,536	43,969	50,629	59,611	52,243

Trade balance	Net	-73,929	-83,969	-10,127	-16,178	-21,375	-26,249	-16,197	-13,564	-19,948	-34,260	-19,784

Primary Income	Inflows	45,946	74,116	9,543	12,242	11,715	12,446	15,433	19,960	19,324	19,399	20,199
	Outflows	136,401	129,163	30,587	33,096	34,570	38,148	37,780	30,990	28,542	31,851	37,112
Net Primary Income		-90,455	-55,047	-21,044	-20,854	-22,855	-25,702	-22,347	-11,030	-9,218	-12,452	-16,913

of which: Investment Income	Inflows	45,900	74,070	9,531	12,231	11,704	12,434	15,422	19,949	19,312	19,387	20,189
	Outflows	136,386	129,144	30,584	33,093	34,567	38,142	37,775	30,987	28,536	31,846	37,108
Direct investment income	Inflows	6,493	10,243	1,446	2,289	1,108	1,650	1,023	3,398	2,615	3,207	3,283
	Outflows	111,640	92,151	25,363	27,155	28,128	30,994	29,907	21,220	18,719	22,305	27,039
Portfolio investment income	Inflows	31,782	41,125	6,787	8,718	8,355	7,922	9,069	11,069	10,650	10,337	11,073
	Outflows	19,381	28,273	4,115	4,738	4,996	5,532	5,774	7,680	7,296	7,523	7,852
Other investment income	Inflows	7,625	22,702	1,298	1,224	2,241	2,862	5,330	5,482	6,047	5,843	5,833
	Outflows	5,365	8,720	1,106	1,200	1,443	1,616	2,094	2,087	2,521	2,018	2,217

Secondary Income	Inflows	1,078	981	189	217	361	311	234	216	280	251	249
	Outflows	873	811	138	166	310	259	185	177	239	210	198

Income balance	Net	-90,250	-54,877	-20,993	-20,803	-22,804	-25,650	-22,298	-10,991	-9,177	-12,411	-16,862

Current Account - Total	Inflows	160,152	189,873	39,944	39,291	39,648	41,269	44,006	50,581	50,285	45,001	52,907
	Outflows	324,331	328,719	71,064	76,272	83,827	93,168	82,501	75,136	79,410	91,672	89,553

Current Account Balance with US	Net	-164,179	-138,846	-31,120	-36,981	-44,179	-51,899	-38,495	-24,555	-29,125	-46,671	-36,646
¹Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q1 2024 Table 4.4 (XLS 14KB)

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Table 4.2 Foreign Direct investment with the UK¹												€ million
		2022	2023	2022				2023				2024
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1

Direct Investment	Abroad	-2,192	6,460	2,730	1,678	-5,156	-1,444	2,481	2,996	-432	1,415	-672
	In Ireland	-7,475	1,833	185	-1,360	978	-7,278	1,901	395	200	-663	-417

Equity	Abroad	1,997	3,811	6,652	352	-3,253	-1,754	1,184	2,014	659	-46	-780
	In Ireland	-9,213	-30	-31	*	-554	*	121	-628	-173	650	-28
Reinvested Earnings	Abroad	1,844	2,569	331	1,282	125	106	874	581	-218	1,332	1,656
	In Ireland	218	3,291	-83	*	-276	*	560	511	722	1,498	537
Other Capital	Abroad	-6,032	80	-4,253	45	-2,028	204	423	401	-873	129	-1,548
	In Ireland	1,522	-1,428	299	-1,752	1,808	1,167	1,220	513	-350	-2,811	-925
¹For Direct Investment, a 'directional' categorisation is used: 'Abroad' 'indicates direct investment by Irish investors in British companies; British direct investment into Ireland is indicated by the heading 'In Ireland'.

International Accounts Q1 2024 Final

Accounts with the UK and US

Accounts with the UK and the US

Current Accounts with UK and US show deficits

Current account with UK shows a deficit of €5bn in Quarter 1 2024

Current account with UK (See Table 4.1)

Current account with US shows deficit of €36.6bn in Quarter 1 2024

Current account with US (See Table 4.3)

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