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For more information on this release:
E-mail: bop@cso.ie Annette Hayes (+353) 1 498 4319 Christopher Sibley (+353) 1 498 4305
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-5201
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Balance of International Payments

Quarter 2 2018

   € million
Merchandise BalanceInvisibles BalanceCurrent Account BalanceCurrent Account Balance as % of GDP
Q2 201828,977-18,81510,16213.3
Q2 201723,545-26,847-3,303-4.8
Q1-Q2 201856,055-36,34219,71412.8
Q1-Q2 201748,577-46,8231,7531.3

Current account surplus of €10bn in Quarter 2 2018

Balance of International payments q2 2018 fig 1
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The Balance of Payments current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, showed a surplus of over €10bn in the second quarter of 2018. A merchandise surplus of €29bn was partially offset by a deficit of almost €19bn on services and income (see Table 1).

X-axis labelMerchandiseServicesPrimary IncomeSecondary IncomeBalance on Current Account
Q3 201529.755-7.431-17.792-0.5933.939
Q4 201529.955-16.466-15.558-0.965-3.035
Q1 201627.29-14.564-11.001-1.020.705
Q2 201624.44-16.885-11.342-0.768-4.555
Q3 201626.315-12.294-14.425-0.82-1.224
Q4 201628.043-19.992-13.144-1.205-6.299
Q1 201725.032-5.356-13.684-0.9365.056
Q2 201723.545-9.642-15.647-1.558-3.303
Q3 201728.9150.681-14.829-1.00613.76
Q4 201730.147-4.034-15.613-1.0899.411
Q1 201827.078-1.25-14.971-1.3069.552
Q2 201828.977-1.97-15.429-1.41610.162

Other points of note in the Quarter 2 2018 results are:

Current account (see Table 2a)

  • Merchandise exports were €52,283m in the second quarter of 2018, an increase of €6,490m compared with the second quarter of 2017. Merchandise imports were €23,306m in the second quarter of 2018, an increase of €1,058m compared with the same period in 2017.

  • Service exports at €42,118m increased by €2,641m compared to the second quarter of 2017, mainly due to higher computer services exports.

  • Service imports at €44,088m were down €5,032m over the same period in 2017. These figures were largely affected by reduced levels of research and development related intellectual property imports.

  • Ireland’s Trade Balance, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, increased by €13,104m in the second quarter of 2018, over the same period in 2017.

  • Investment income earned abroad, at €22,963m, increased by €2,926m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to foreign investors, at €38,654m, increased by €2,721m.

X-axis labelDirect InvestmentPortfolio InvestmentOther InvestmentReserve AssetsBalance on Financial Account
Q3 20159.983-17.66314.477-0.0246.773
Q4 2015-90.174-11.85697.0390.103-4.889
Q1 201612.279-7.4971.421.0957.297
Q2 2016-0.2932.933-14.069-0.224-11.653
Q3 2016-10.52210.385-7.6620.379-7.42
Q4 2016-9.89421.89-8.7620.2063.441
Q1 2017-4.669-13.224-1.406-0.101-19.4
Q2 20174.186-45.6237.4820.163-3.789
Q3 20174.0690.5986.7730.23511.675
Q4 2017-37.1672.93150.3270.10216.192
Q1 201826.3397.45-20.09-0.02213.677
Q2 201810.209-29.44533.7810.00514.55

Financial account (see Tables 2b and 3)

  • Direct investment in Ireland decreased by €44,020m in the second quarter of 2018. This change was driven by a decrease in equity of €50,392m.  Direct investment abroad decreased by €33,811m in the quarter, mainly due to a fall in equity of €63,486m.

  • Portfolio investment in foreign assets increased by €8,341m in the quarter. Investment in foreign equity increased by €11,896m and investment in foreign debt instruments decreased by €3,555m. Portfolio investment in Ireland increased by €37,785m, with Irish equity up €37,444m.

  • Other investment assets increased by €89,705m and Other investment liabilities increased by €55,925m in the second quarter of 2018, both mainly due to the activities of IFSC enterprises
X-axis labelMerchandiseServicesIncomeCurrent Account
Q1 20160.8811.758-2.848-0.209
Q2 20160.2452.351-3.545-0.949
Q3 20160.442.722-3.702-0.54
Q4 20161.0522.438-2.4141.076
Q1 20170.7062.137-2.0760.767
Q2 20170.3822.78-3.0390.124
Q3 2017-0.0912.915-2.826-0.002
Q4 2017-0.5361.959-1.888-0.465
Q1 2018-0.271.772-2.279-0.778
Q2 2018-0.2782.289-4.058-2.047

Current account with UK (see Table 2c)

  • Merchandise exports were €5,348m in the second quarter of 2018, a decrease of €865m compared with the second quarter of 2017.
  • Merchandise imports were €5,626m in the second quarter of 2018, a decrease of €205m compared with the second quarter of 2017.
  • Services exports at €6,790m increased by €158m compared to the second quarter of 2017, mainly due to both computer services and financial services exports.
  • Service imports at €4,501m were up €649m over that same period in 2017. These figures were affected by increased levels of both business services and financial services costs.
  • Investment income earned in UK at €4,950m, increased by €880m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to UK investors at €8,854m increased by €1,893m.
  • When these effects are combined, the trade balance with the UK has fallen by €1,151m and net income outflows have increased by €1,019m, compared with the second quarter of 2017. The result is a current account deficit of €2,047m in the second quarter of 2018, down from the surplus of €124m in the second quarter of 2017.
Table 1 Summary of Current, Capital and Financial Account Balances € million
PeriodMerchandise1 services and income balance Balance on Current Account Balance on Capital Account Direct InvestmentPortfolio InvestmentOther2 InvestmentReserve AssetsBalance on Financial AccountNet errors and omissions
   
ServicesPrimary IncomeSecondary IncomeTotal   
1998Year17,510-8,426-9,7761,319-16,883 627 840-4,4228,466-7,4592,280-1,135-2,602
1999Year22,170-9,723-13,3981,177-21,944 226 560-11,35914,342974-1,7462,2111,425
2000Year28,312-13,312-15,327994-27,645 667 1,182-22,9575,3589,037142-8,420-10,269
2001Year31,464-12,412-17,762-1,075-31,249 215 779-6,24125,158-19,183441175-819
2002Year36,982-13,619-21,910-1,116-36,645 337 588-19,44437,979-19,425-343-1,233-2,158
2003Year32,954-10,903-20,035-1,303-32,241 713 445-15,27039,977-22,751-1,770186-972
2004Year34,588-12,141-21,345-1,255-34,741 -153 35523,095-14,287-12,170-1,177-4,539-4,741
2005Year32,184-13,655-22,786-1,769-38,210 -6,026 34037,660-52,69815,364-1,472-1,1474,539
2006Year27,194-12,313-22,723-2,063-37,099 -9,905 29915,841-8,135-16,635-87-9,016590
2007Year28,698-12,384-26,630-2,510-41,524 -12,826 115-1,6217,283-20,08612-14,413-1,702
2008Year32,622-16,468-25,141-2,729-44,339 -11,716 11923,28845,749-85,93278-16,817-5,220
2009Year38,752-15,823-27,885-2,948-46,656 -7,904 14-245-22,62619,433-79-3,5174,373
2010Year41,288-13,421-27,178-2,701-43,300 -2,012 91-16,318-85,96590,883-5-11,404-9,484
2011Year41,257-9,096-32,312-2,660-44,067 -2,810 234-18,698-26,90831,086-329-14,849-12,272
2012Year36,896-6,282-33,939-2,609-42,830 -5,934 86-20,497-76710,952-12-10,324-4,476
2013Year34,506-718-28,069-2,931-31,718 2,787 -936-16,13735,737-15,467104,1432,289
2014Year40,731-5,546-30,341-2,750-38,637 2,093 -6,769-5,279-27,86220,506136-12,498-7,824
2015Year113,394-37,715-60,785-3,338-101,838 11,556 -1,303-44,510-88,281138,6214946,321-3,930
2016Year106,088-63,735-49,912-3,813-117,460 -11,373 -4,331 -8,43027,711-29,0731,456-8,3357,368
2017Year107,639-18,351-59,773-4,589-82,713 24,924 -28,168-33,581-55,31593,1763994,6787,922
 
2011Quarter 1 10,624-2,926-8,278-841-12,046 -1,422 24 -8,453-7,06311,286-65-4,295-2,897
 Quarter 29,576-1,580-8,820-513-10,913 -1,336 1 -7,601-22,34427,15729-2,759-1,424
 Quarter 311,547-1,862-8,307-641-10,810 736 -1 -6,80219,456-16,652-24-4,022-4,757
 Quarter 49,510-2,729-6,906-664-10,299 -789 210 4,158-16,9579,295-269-3,772-3,194
2012Quarter 1 8,969-1,805-9,051-814-11,670 -2,702 61-13,17644,957-32,626-12-8571,784
 Quarter 2 9,275-2,603-8,488-603-11,694 -2,419 13,238-33,25420,9496-9,061-6,643
 Quarter 310,072-327-8,632-643-9,602 471 5-14,231-6,31517,833-1-2,714-3,190
 Quarter 48,580-1,547-7,768-549-9,864 -1,284 193,672-6,1554,796-52,3083,573
2013Quarter 1 7,726-578-7,146-828-8,552 -826 -207-5,1146,3651,73102,9824,015
 Quarter 2 9,638-564-8,095-700-9,359 279 -244-8,29611,868-4,6571-1,084-1,120
 Quarter 3 9,816634-7,154-663-7,183 2,632 -259-1,3719321,70941,274-1,100
 Quarter 47,326-210-5,674-740-6,624 702 -226-1,35616,572-14,2505971494
2014Quarter 18,939-1,820-7,567-899-10,286 -1,347 -1,6912,726-12,6583,6200-6,312-3,274
 Quarter 211,286-1,449-8,117-608-10,174 1,112 -1,717-3,671-4,56712,11913,8824,487
 Quarter 310,985151-7,891-545-8,285 2,700 -1,649-485-15,4279,8872-6,023-7,075
 Quarter 49,521-2,428-6,766-698-9,892 -372 -1,712-3,8494,790-5,120133-4,045-1,962
2015Quarter 126,790-5,794-16,013-986-22,793 3,998 -70738,272-72,51936,5811082,441-849
 Quarter 226,894-8,024-11,422-794-20,240 6,654 -226-2,59113,757-9,4763071,996-4,432
 Quarter 329,755-7,431-17,792-593-25,816 3,939 1009,983-17,66314,477-246,7732,735
 Quarter 429,955-16,466-15,558-965-32,989 -3,035 -470-90,174-11,85697,039103-4,889-1,384
2016Quarter 127,290-14,564-11,001-1,020-26,585 705 -2,67012,279-7,4971,4201,0957,2979,262
 Quarter 224,440-16,885-11,342-768-28,995 -4,555 -586-2932,933-14,069-224-11,653-6,513
 Quarter 326,315-12,294-14,425-820-27,539 -1,224 161-10,52210,385-7,662379-7,420-6,357
 Quarter 428,043-19,992-13,144-1,205-34,341 -6,299 -1,236-9,89421,890-8,7622063,44110,976
2017Quarter 125,032-5,356-13,684-936-19,976 5,056 -14,100-4,669-13,224-1,406-101-19,400-10,355
 Quarter 223,545-9,642-15,647-1,558-26,847 -3,303 -6,2374,186-45,62037,482163-3,7895,751
 Quarter 328,915681-14,829-1,006-15,154 13,760 -5,9714,0695986,77323511,6753,886
 Quarter 430,147-4,034-15,613-1,089-20,736 9,411 -1,860-37,1672,93150,32710216,1928,640
2018Quarter 127,078-1,250-14,971-1,306-17,527 9,552 -43726,3397,450-20,090-2213,6774,562
 Quarter 228,977-1,970-15,429-1,416-18,815 10,162 -36310,209-29,44533,781514,5504,751
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: Balance of International Payments Q2 2018 Table 1 (XLS 42KB)
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Table 2a Current and Capital Accounts€ million
  2016201720172018
Item Year Quarter 1Quarter 2Quarter 3Quarter 4 Quarter 1Quarter 2
Current Account
Merchandise1Exports193,160192,85445,96345,79348,42752,67148,48552,283
 Imports87,07285,21420,93122,24819,51222,52321,40723,306
 
  International tradeExports119,267122,53932,13431,03028,92130,45433,51435,482
 Imports71,93476,67718,63920,51917,27820,24119,32720,506
  Goods for processingExports67,43664,66815,67212,98515,87220,13913,82114,855
 Imports8,3795,5751,6019751,5081,4911,6292,087
  Other conceptual adjustmentsExports115-1,947-4,096-2032,30745-721165
 Imports6,7582,961690753727791451714
  Merchanting (net export)Exports6,3417,5932,2531,9801,3272,0331,8711,781
 
ServicesExports135,076159,701 36,23439,47740,26243,728 38,20542,118
Imports198,809178,054 41,59149,12039,58147,762 39,45544,088
  Repairs and ProcessingExports2,5272,254527545605577476370
 Imports3,9044,8551,1691,1361,0491,5011,0771,092
  TransportExports7,2258,0861,1902,1473,0991,6501,2282,111
Imports2,6892,540623663583671642678
  Tourism and Travel 2Exports4,6854,9727081,4331,7621,0698171,500
Imports5,6235,8141,0771,4072,0631,2671,2391,566
  InsuranceExports9,2969,9132,4962,4512,3732,5932,5262,398
Imports6,6957,0791,7341,8011,6891,8552,0881,998
  Financial servicesExports13,28715,3093,7643,6373,8654,0433,8863,784
Imports11,54913,2463,2783,1623,3203,4863,3863,307
  Royalties/LicencesExports8,0529,6081,7831,9742,9462,9052,7163,464
Imports69,20266,58816,69016,70015,19818,00016,23717,869
of which: Pharmaceutical products and preparationsExports365184464545483014
Imports24,02515,8984,4754,5443,4863,3932,8733,474
                 Information and communication Exports8372,472177**1,0691,1211,406
Imports27,64734,1057,8888,3157,75210,1508,8459,768
  CommunicationsExports719617156157152152147142
Imports1,1651,145256289292308268268
  Computer services3Exports58,07969,32315,85117,04516,49219,93518,47720,211
Imports1,3853,3535507878591,1578391,086
  Business servicesExports30,09337,0759,3049,5478,5709,6547,4457,895
Imports96,08172,86816,07323,03314,38819,37413,53616,082
     Research and developmentExports3,9784,9071,1781,1611,0411,527537540
 Imports58,05226,8325,86612,1923,2975,4773,4033,944
  of which: IP relatedExports1,9673,086**5861,1625013
 Imports46,05314,0342,8399,139**104*
     Operational leasingExports13,16913,1053,2953,2253,3573,2282,9943,022
 Imports1,074696304143131118122124
     Misc. business services4Exports12,94619,0624,8305,1614,1724,8993,9144,334
 Imports36,95545,3409,90310,69710,96013,78010,01212,014
  Other services n.e.s.Exports1,1132,546 4565413991,150 488244
Imports517564 140142140142 141142
 
Merchandise and Services - TotalExports328,235352,555 82,19785,27088,68996,399 86,69094,402
 Imports285,882263,268 62,52171,36759,09470,286 60,86267,395
 
Trade BalanceNet42,35389,289 19,67613,90329,59626,114 25,82927,007
 
Primary IncomeInflows70,34678,224 17,93420,51619,29420,480 18,16223,448
 Outflows120,260137,996 31,61736,16334,12336,093 33,13338,877
  Compensation of EmployeesInflows520528 131131135131 131131
Outflows627645 160161160164 159158
  Investment IncomeInflows68,34676,189 17,45620,03718,77719,919 17,67222,963
Outflows119,322137,035 31,38435,93333,88435,834 32,89738,654
      Direct investment incomeInflows18,38320,728 4,2584,4985,1426,830 3,8685,832
Outflows61,05672,048 16,74917,32218,10819,869 17,37418,070
          Income on equityInflows15,19318,079 3,5113,7624,4956,311 3,5995,187
Outflows55,28565,966 15,08115,75716,64618,482 16,14516,716
              Dividends & distributed Inflows3,420630 3329459244 44*
                  branch profitsOutflows18,60312,936 3,0462,8544,2772,759 3,9633,744
              Reinvested earningsInflows11,77417,450 3,4783,4694,4366,067 3,555*
Outflows36,68253,029 12,03412,90312,36915,723 12,18212,972
         Income on debtInflows3,1902,649 746736647520 269645
Outflows5,7716,084 1,6681,5651,4631,388 1,2291,354
      Portfolio investment incomeInflows40,78445,557 10,65312,96611,17710,761 11,35114,350
Outflows48,03654,714 12,17016,08913,18813,267 13,06817,722
          Income on equityInflows12,83414,619 3,2615,0323,5002,826 3,3885,754
 Outflows40,54148,043 10,43414,38011,55211,677 11,56616,194
         Income on debtInflows27,94830,939 7,3937,9347,6777,935 7,9638,595
Outflows7,4946,672 1,7371,7091,6361,590 1,5021,528
      Other investment incomeInflows9,1779,904 2,5452,5732,4582,328 2,4532,782
Outflows10,23110,272 2,4642,5222,5882,698 2,4562,861
Other primary incomeInflows1,4801,504 346347382429 360354
Outflows310317 74697995 7766
 
Secondary IncomeInflows4,5045,154 1,2771,1271,4311,319 1,3701,131
 Outflows8,3179,744 2,2132,6852,4382,408 2,6762,548
 
 Income BalanceNet-53,727-64,363 -14,620-17,205-15,836-16,702 -16,276-16,846
 
Current Account - TotalInflows403,086435,934 101,408106,913109,415118,198 106,223118,981
Outflows414,458411,009 96,352110,21695,655108,786 96,671108,820
 
Current Account BalanceNet-11,37324,924 5,056-3,30313,7609,411 9,55210,162
 
Capital Account BalanceNet-4,331-28,168 -14,100-6,237-5,971-1,860 -437-363
 
Memorandum Item:
 Government IncomeInflows7493 21232524 386379
 Outflows3,9093,675 958942936839 946968
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.
Open in Excel: Balance of International Payments Q2 2018 Table 2(a) (XLS 44KB)
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Table 2b Financial Account¹ € million
 2016201720172018
Item Year Quarter 1Quarter 2Quarter 3Quarter 4 Quarter 1Quarter 2
 
Direct Investment Abroad27,180-34,690 12715,4178,118-58,3523,520-33,811
In Ireland35,607-1,109 4,79611,2314,049-21,185 -22,818-44,020
 
    EquityAbroad43,782-65,888 -23,16027,062-8,271-61,519-7,605-63,486
 In Ireland97,986-35,529 19,279-13,025260-42,043-10,882-50,392
    Reinvested EarningsAbroad11,77417,450 3,4783,4694,4366,0673,555*
In Ireland36,68253,029 12,03412,90312,36915,72312,18212,972
    Other CapitalAbroad-28,37713,74919,809-15,11311,953-2,9007,571*
 In Ireland-99,059-18,608 -26,51711,354-8,5805,135-24,118-6,601
 
Portfolio InvestmentAssets116,439253,689 79,44140,09164,73169,42680,5078,341
Liabilities88,727309,004 92,66585,71164,13366,495 73,05737,785
 
    EquityAssets3,70594,474 24,40025,92826,22717,91929,06611,896
 Liabilities130,304306,047 76,74891,64169,79167,86762,57337,444
     Debt InstrumentsAssets112,732159,213 55,04114,16338,50351,50651,442-3,555
 Liabilities-41,5772,957 15,917-5,930-5,658-1,37210,484341
        Bonds and notes Assets83,755115,363 33,23637,62321,69822,80633,9499,374
 Liabilities-37,624-816 12,119-9,263-4,7291,0577,658866
        Money market instruments Assets28,97843,850 21,805-23,46016,80528,70017,493-12,929
 Liabilities-3,9553,775 3,7993,333-928-2,4292,826-524
 
Other InvestmentAssets-43,73194,497 -22,57833,47033,03450,571 31,51489,705
Liabilities-14,6571,321 -21,173-4,01126,261244 51,60455,925
 
     Loans, currency and depositsAssets-7,471105,547 5,01832,98219,57947,968 22,54736,938
 Liabilities20,15124,897 15,1711,16916,012-7,455 34,57124,687
     Other2Assets-36,260-11,049 -27,59648813,4562,6038,96752,768
 Liabilities-34,807-23,577 -36,344-5,18010,2487,69917,03231,238
 
Reserve Assets 1,456399 -101163235102-225
 
     Monetary gold 00 000000
     Special drawing rights 113-43 120-39-16-165
     Reserve position in the IMF 7300 0000-1110
     Foreign exchange  416158 4314890-123-141
     Other 198285 -1561518524119-11
 
Balance on Financial Account -8,3354,678 -19,400-3,78911,67516,19213,67714,550
 
Net errors and omissions 7,3687,922 -10,3555,7513,8868,640 4,5624,751
Memorandum Item:
Government financialAssets-966426 4640727-54 -1,0954,367
  transactionsLiabilities-6,4951,377 6,5432,995-631-7,530 5,7717,549
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.
Open in Excel: Balance of International Payments Q2 2018 Table 2(b) (XLS 37KB)
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Table 2c Current Account with UK€ million
2016201720172018
Item Year Quarter 1Quarter 2Quarter 3Quarter 4 Quarter 1Quarter 2
Current Account
Merchandise1Exports24,00523,464 6,0076,2135,5085,7365,3155,348
Imports21,38723,003 5,3015,8315,5996,2725,5855,626
 
  of which: Merchanting (net export)Exports4,1563,853 1,0398689261,0201,0811,121
 
ServicesExports24,05526,266 5,9736,6326,9216,7406,1486,790
Imports14,78616,475 3,8363,8524,0064,7814,3764,501
  TransportExports2,2852,349 369631866483392640
Imports505531 128132127144134133
  Tourism and Travel 2Exports1,0941,032 204273310245236269
Imports1,1851,266 303281334348351309
  InsuranceExports2,4032,507 649613599646640600
Imports1,6131,613 407392382432411426
  Financial servicesExports4,8535,595 1,3641,3041,4521,4751,4531,403
Imports3,7514,355 1,0711,0271,1271,1301,1841,201
  Royalties/LicencesExports8191,088 263260261304259252
Imports603463 1311041221067672
  Computer services3Exports6,0886,327 1,4431,5641,5791,7411,5411,808
Imports157277 567471768063
  Business servicesExports3,7214,212 1,0011,1759871,0499231,162
Imports5,9536,954 1,4921,5931,5772,2921,8752,045
     (of which: Operational leasing)Exports726711 173189168181153185
 Imports3828 777777
  Other Exports2,7923,156 680813866797 704656
Imports1,0171,015 249248265253 265250
 
Merchandise and Services TotalExports48,06049,730 11,98012,84512,42912,476 11,46312,138
Imports36,17339,478 9,1379,6839,60611,053 9,96110,127
 
Trade balanceNet11,88710,252 2,8433,1622,8231,423 1,5022,011
 
Primary IncomeInflows13,53216,686 4,0254,1254,0834,4534,3605,005
 Outflows25,85026,086 6,0227,0456,7946,2256,5218,938
  (of which : Investment Income)Inflows13,30816,461 3,9694,0704,0254,3974,3044,950
Outflows25,51925,749 5,9376,9616,7126,1396,4388,854
                       Direct investment incomeInflows1,1182,216 581397449789618759
Outflows4,4732,846 8114598547226381,085
                       Portfolio investment incomeInflows9,04510,658 2,5662,7902,6352,6672,7273,089
Outflows18,00320,668 4,6105,9465,2664,8465,1976,965
                       Other investment incomeInflows3,1453,586 8228829419419601,102
Outflows3,0442,232 516555591570604804
 
Secondary IncomeInflows1,8232,037 542523556416530488
 Outflows2,0142,466 621642671532648613
 
Income balanceNet-12,509-9,829 -2,076-3,039-2,826-1,888-2,279-4,058
 
Current Account - TotalInflows63,41568,453 16,54717,49317,06817,34516,35317,631
Outflows64,03668,028 15,78017,36917,07017,80917,13019,678
 
Current Account Balance with UK -622424 767124-2-465 -778-2,047
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.
Open in Excel: Balance of International Payments Q2 2018 Table 2(c) (XLS 37KB)
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Table 3 Current, Capital and Financial Accounts showing IFSC¹ and Non–IFSC activity€ million
  20162017 20172018
Item Year Quarter 1Quarter 2Quarter 3Quarter 4 Quarter 1Quarter 2
Current Account - TotalInflows403,086435,934 101,408106,913109,415118,198 106,223118,981
 Outflows414,458411,009 96,352110,21695,655108,786 96,671108,820
 
Merchandise2Exports193,160192,854 45,96345,79348,42752,671 48,48552,283
Imports87,07285,214 20,93122,24819,51222,523 21,40723,306
 
ServicesExports135,076159,701 36,23439,47740,26243,728 38,20542,118
Imports198,809178,054 41,59149,12039,58147,762 39,45544,088
 
        IFSCExports36,50939,051 9,7059,6719,7079,968 9,5289,490
 Imports20,95023,307 5,8215,6105,7476,129 6,4476,441
        Non-IFSCExports98,566120,652 26,52929,80730,55533,761 28,67632,629
Imports177,862154,748 35,77043,51033,83441,634 33,00737,647
 
Primary IncomeInflows70,34678,224 17,93420,51619,29420,480 18,16223,448
Outflows120,260137,996 31,61736,16334,12336,093 33,13338,877
 
        IFSCInflows53,10158,578 14,25716,30714,23613,778 14,10617,600
 Outflows59,16664,820 15,46618,03115,80015,523 16,62219,532
        Non-IFSCInflows17,24619,644 3,6764,2085,0586,702 4,0575,848
Outflows61,09573,176 16,15118,13218,32320,570 16,51119,346
 
Secondary IncomeInflows4,5045,154 1,2771,1271,4311,319 1,3701,131
Outflows8,3179,744 2,2132,6852,4382,408 2,6762,548
 
        IFSC3Inflows3,7744,324 1,0388851,2411,160 1,213975
 Outflows3,7744,324 1,0388851,2411,160 1,213975
        Non-IFSCInflows730830 238243190159 157157
 Outflows4,5425,420 1,1751,8001,1971,248 1,4631,573
 
Balance on Current Account -11,37324,924 5,056-3,30313,7609,411 9,55210,162
 
Balance on Capital Account -4,331-28,168 -14,100-6,237-5,971-1,860 -437-363
 
Financial Account4
Direct investmentAbroad27,180-34,690 12715,4178,118-58,352 3,520-33,811
 In Ireland35,607-1,109 4,79611,2314,049-21,185 -22,818-44,020
 
        IFSCAbroad13,8346,653 **-471,194 -2,8521,130
 In Ireland11,8098,124 -1,284-14,1891,39822,199 -13,516-3,475
        Non-IFSCAbroad13,345-41,344 **8,165-59,547 6,373-34,941
 In Ireland23,800-9,232 6,08025,4212,651-43,384 -9,302-40,546
 
Portfolio investmentAssets116,439253,689 79,44140,09164,73169,426 80,5078,341
 Liabilities88,727309,004 92,66585,71164,13366,495 73,05737,785
 
        IFSCAssets108,091245,900 76,24240,90361,34667,409 79,4206,992
 Liabilities99,770306,633 86,51084,78866,57868,757 65,77832,160
        Non-IFSCAssets8,3487,790 3,199-8113,3852,017 1,0881,349
 Liabilities-11,0422,372 6,156923-2,445-2,262 7,2805,625
 
Other investment5Assets-43,73194,497 -22,57833,47033,03450,571 31,51489,705
 Liabilities-14,6571,321 -21,173-4,01126,261244 51,60455,925
 
        IFSCAssets-45,93890,837 -10,01125,99727,62347,228 36,93869,627
 Liabilities-21,1859,594 -11,775-3,03122,1982,202 58,84849,029
        Non-IFSCAssets2,2063,661 -12,5677,4735,4123,343 -5,42420,078
 Liabilities6,528-8,273 -9,398-9804,063-1,958 -7,2456,896
 
Reserve Assets 1,456399 -101163235102 -225
 
Balance on Financial Account -8,3354,678 -19,400-3,78911,67516,192 13,67714,550
Net errors and omissions 7,3687,922 -10,3555,7513,8868,640 4,5624,751
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 2b.
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.
Open in Excel: Balance of International Payments Q2 2018 Table 3 (XLS 40KB)
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Table 4a Current and Capital Accounts showing geographical¹ detail € million
 20162017 20172018
Item Year Quarter 1Quarter 2Quarter 3Quarter 4 Quarter 1Quarter 2
 
Current Account - TotalInflows403,086435,934 101,408106,913109,415118,198 106,223118,981
 Outflows414,458411,009 96,352110,21695,655108,786 96,671108,820
 
Merchandise2Exports193,160192,854 45,96345,79348,42752,671 48,48552,283
 Imports87,07285,214 20,93122,24819,51222,523 21,40723,306
      EMUExports50,54254,529 14,24112,68813,99213,608 12,00014,396
 Imports27,42128,509 7,5557,5166,3767,062 7,2868,592
      Non-EMUExports142,618138,326 31,72233,10534,43639,063 36,48637,887
 Imports59,65156,704 13,37514,73213,13615,461 14,12014,715
       EU Exports81,84884,741 22,01420,51821,07421,135 18,75521,284
 Imports51,12153,833 13,46413,88912,47114,009 13,56915,007
      Non-EU Exports111,311108,113 23,94925,27427,35431,536 29,73130,999
Imports35,95231,381 7,4678,3597,0418,514 7,8388,300
 
ServicesExports135,076159,701 36,23439,47740,26243,728 38,20542,118
 Imports198,809178,054 41,59149,12039,58147,762 39,45544,088
      EMUExports34,68438,818 9,0259,6389,65910,496 9,31510,510
 Imports37,95643,459 9,48311,0709,63113,275 10,23311,546
      Non-EMUExports100,391120,885 27,20929,84030,60333,233 28,89031,608
 Imports160,854134,594 32,10738,05029,95034,487 29,22132,542
       EU Exports66,26374,074 16,99818,49718,78419,795 17,74119,701
 Imports54,62462,191 13,77915,49114,24318,678 15,14816,647
      Non-EU Exports68,81285,629 19,23620,98121,47823,934 20,46422,418
Imports144,185115,864 27,81233,62925,33929,084 24,30727,441
 
Primary IncomeInflows70,34678,224 17,93420,51619,29420,480 18,16223,448
 Outflows120,260137,996 31,61736,16334,12336,093 33,13338,877
      EMUInflows28,97428,638 6,5737,3787,2737,414 6,9538,407
 Outflows41,12050,331 9,91013,73113,79612,894 13,32715,466
      Non-EMUInflows41,37349,586 11,36113,13812,02113,066 11,20915,041
 Outflows79,13987,664 21,70722,43220,32723,198 19,80623,412
       EU Inflows46,55649,597 11,75312,52312,38012,941 12,19314,279
 Outflows69,14879,525 16,72821,56621,39919,832 20,39325,006
      Non-EU Inflows23,79028,627 6,1817,9936,9147,539 5,9699,170
 Outflows51,11158,472 14,89014,59712,72516,260 12,74013,871
 
Secondary IncomeInflows4,5045,154 1,2771,1271,4311,319 1,3701,131
 Outflows8,3179,744 2,2132,6852,4382,408 2,6762,548
      EMUInflows1,4701,846 420280524622 445359
 Outflows1,8162,615 543488740844 637576
      Non-EMUInflows3,0343,308 857847907697 925772
 Outflows6,5017,128 1,6702,1971,6971,564 2,0391,972
       EU Inflows3,4744,112 1,0158531,1401,104 1,029900
 Outflows6,5127,908 1,7682,2091,9731,958 2,1632,103
      Non-EU Inflows1,0301,041 261274291215 341231
 Outflows1,8051,834 445475464450 512444
 
Balance on Current Account -11,37324,924 5,056-3,30313,7609,411 9,55210,162
 
Balance on Capital Account -4,331-28,168 -14,100-6,237-5,971-1,860 -437-363
 
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.The term ‘EU’ relates to transactions between residents of Ireland and other residents of the EU-28 area. All data shown on this table relates to EMU-19 and EU-28.
2Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.
Open in Excel: Balance of International Payments Q2 2018 Table 4(a) (XLS 38KB)
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Table 4b Financial Account¹ showing geographical² detail€ million
  20162017 20172018
Item Year Quarter 1Quarter 2Quarter 3Quarter 4 Quarter 1Quarter 2
 
Direct InvestmentAbroad27,180-34,690 12715,4178,118-58,352 3,520-33,811
 In Ireland35,607-1,109 4,79611,2314,049-21,185 -22,818-44,020
 
      EMUAbroad-4,713-51,544 -2,96522,9964,650-76,225 -27,405-35,721
 In Ireland-37,73452,407 13,67339,3632,167-2,796 -65,119-49,837
      Non-EMUAbroad31,89216,855 3,092-7,5783,46817,873 30,9261,909
 In Ireland73,343-53,515 -8,877-28,1311,882-18,389 42,3015,816
       EU Abroad6,500-46,181 -2,46626,2663,925-73,906 -29,558-33,500
 In Ireland-25,91555,127 10,98040,943-1,3184,522 -90,979-49,511
      Non-EU Abroad20,68011,491 2,593-10,8484,19315,553 33,078-311
In Ireland61,523-56,236 -6,184-29,7125,367-25,707 68,1615,491
 
Portfolio InvestmentAssets116,439253,689 79,44140,09164,73169,426 80,5078,341
Liabilities88,727309,004 92,66585,71164,13366,495 73,05737,785
 
      EMUAssets16,75551,988 15,98111,7076,66017,640 11,470-4,800
 Liabilities33,976106,093 37,92529,99715,95522,216 25,76115,294
      Non-EMUAssets99,684201,700 63,46028,38458,07151,785 69,03713,141
 Liabilities54,750202,911 54,74055,71448,17844,279 47,29622,491
       EU Assets47,876121,500 40,56231,7806,28542,873 14,095-1,789
 Liabilities81,978271,410 82,39174,68648,90165,432 55,20525,162
      Non-EU Assets68,562132,189 38,8798,31258,44626,552 66,41210,129
Liabilities6,74837,595 10,27411,02615,2321,063 17,85212,623
 
Other Investment3Assets-43,73194,497 -22,57833,47033,03450,571 31,51489,705
Liabilities-14,6571,321 -21,173-4,01126,261244 51,60455,925
 
      EMUAssets-11,21335,191 5,2329,471-3,96024,448 16,41917,396
 Liabilities7,924-9,214 404-5,2443,805-8,179 5,93110,797
      Non-EMUAssets-32,51759,305 -27,81123,99936,99426,123 15,09472,309
 Liabilities-22,58010,535 -21,5771,23322,4568,423 45,67245,128
       EU Assets47,767122,297 29,80323,52824,54344,423 34,74964,652
 Liabilities39,80640,803 18,2067,0358,1937,369 33,54839,187
      Non-EU Assets-91,498-27,800 -52,3819,9428,4916,148 -3,23525,054
Liabilities-54,462-39,481 -39,378-11,04718,068-7,124 18,05516,738
 
Reserve Assets 1,456399 -101163235102 -225
 
Balance on Financial Account -8,3354,678 -19,400-3,78911,67516,192 13,67714,550
 
Net errors and omissions 7,3687,922 -10,3555,7513,8868,640 4,5624,751
1See footnote 1 on Table 2b.
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.The term ‘EU’ relates to transactions between residents of Ireland and other residents of the EU-28 area. All data shown on this table relates to EMU-19 and EU-28.
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.
Open in Excel: Balance of International Payments Q2 2018 Table 4(b) (XLS 37KB)
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Background Notes

Definition 

The balance of payments (BOP) is a statistical statement that summarises, for a specific time period, the economic transactions of the residents of an economy with the rest of the world. 

The balance of payments presentation consists of three tables or accounts, the Current Account, the Capital Account and the Financial Account. The current account consists of trade in merchandise and services, as well as primary and secondary income account inflows and outflows. The capital account covers capital transfers and the acquisition and disposal of non-produced, non-financial assets. The financial account is concerned with transactions in foreign financial assets and liabilities, distinguishing the functional type of investment i.e. direct, portfolio and other investment (including transactions in financial derivatives) and reserve assets. 

BOP transactions, in principle, should be recorded on an accruals basis using market valuation. In practice, the collection system (see below) is designed to adhere to this approach and, for the most part, the valuations reported are either market values or a close approximation.

For more detailed methodological information see Methodology Documents: BOP Quarterly Statistical Compilation Methodology Updated March 2018 (PDF 240KB)

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