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International Accounts Q1 2019

Balance of International Payments

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Current account surplus of €11bn in Quarter 1 2019

Table 1.1 Balance of International Payments				€ million
	Merchandise Balance	Services and Income Balance	Current Account Balance	Current Account Balance as % of GDP
Q1 2018	29,060	-17,734	11,325	14.3
Q1 2019	32,151	-21,162	10,990	13.2
Q1-Q4 2017	109,119	-107,660	1,457	0.5
Q1-Q4 2018	112,960	-78,668	34,292	10.6

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q1 2019 Table 1.1 (XLS 24KB)

The Balance of Payments current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, showed a large surplus in the first quarter of 2019, at €10,990m. A stronger balance from the trade in both goods and services lead to improvements over the previous quarter.

The revised current account balance for the year 2018, at €34.3bn, is up significantly on the 2017 value of €1.5bn, where large imports of intellectual property dominated the series (see Table 1.2).

	Current Account
Q1 2016	1.08381713228808
Q2 2016	-7.14072128705424
Q3 2016	-1.77829680155542
Q4 2016	-8.51023414768543
Q1 2017	8.69115409372204
Q2 2017	-45.5378863680057
Q3 2017	18.4851609171481
Q4 2017	15.9244761416053
Q1 2018	14.3462968690652
Q2 2018	13.7409318355348
Q3 2018	13.5071542511826
Q4 2018	1.17048719979101
Q1 2019	13.2090078476472

X-axis label	Merchandise	Services	Primary Income	Secondary Income	Balance on Current Account
Q1 2017	25.187	-3.437	-15.139	-0.616	5.994
Q2 2017	24.546	-38.743	-16.392	-1.17	-31.759
Q3 2017	28.663	0.26	-13.902	-0.626	14.395
Q4 2017	30.723	-1.571	-15.63	-0.694	12.827
Q1 2018	29.06	-0.151	-16.681	-0.902	11.325
Q2 2018	28.803	-0.986	-16.269	-0.987	10.561
Q3 2018	28.22	0.527	-16.561	-0.759	11.427
Q4 2018	26.877	-4.961	-20.22	-0.718	0.979
Q1 2019	32.151	-1.224	-18.682	-1.256	10.99

Other points of note in the Quarter 1 2019 results are:

Current account (see Table 1.3)

Merchandise exports were €57,145m in the first quarter of 2019, an increase of €5,755m compared with the first quarter of 2018. Merchandise imports were €24,994m in the first quarter of 2019, an increase of €2,663m compared with the same period in 2018.

Service exports at €46,484m increased by €6,788m compared to the first quarter of 2018, mainly due to higher computer services exports.

Service imports at €47,708m were up €7,861m over the same period in 2018. These figures were largely affected by increased payments for miscellaneous business services and increased royalty payments by the information and communications sector.

Ireland’s trade balance at €30,928m, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, increased by €2,019m in the first quarter of 2019, over the same period in 2018.

Investment income earned abroad at €22,367m, increased by €4,340m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to foreign investors at €41,289m increased by €6,312m, mainly due to increased manufacturing profits. The overall income balance for the quarter at -€19,938m was €2,355m lower than the same period in 2018.

X-axis label	Direct Investment	Portfolio Investment	Other Investment	Reserve Assets	Balance on Financial Account
Q1 2017	-2.307	-15.609	6.19	-0.101	-11.827
Q2 2017	-21.375	-41.427	28.371	0.163	-34.268
Q3 2017	6.488	0.452	6.86	0.235	14.035
Q4 2017	-31.389	-1.059	47.706	0.102	15.36
Q1 2018	11.865	9.333	-21.878	-0.022	-0.702
Q2 2018	9.67	-27.047	35.166	0.005	17.794
Q3 2018	10.784	-2.409	1.68	0.209	10.265
Q4 2018	-7.918	14.452	-47.944	0.578	-40.832
Q1 2019	2.627	-3.748	12.795	0.002	11.675

Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)

Direct investment in Ireland increased by €7,424m in the first quarter of 2019. This change was driven by increases in equity of €18,682m and reinvested earnings of €17,841, while these were offset by a fall in other capital of €29,098m. Direct investment abroad increased by €10,051m in the quarter, where increased equity investment of €38,185m was offset by reduced other capital of €32,316.

Portfolio investment in foreign assets increased by €36,887m in the quarter. Investment in foreign equity increased by €16,704m while investment in foreign debt instruments increased by €20,183m. Portfolio investment in Ireland increased by €40,636m, mainly due to increased purchase of Irish equity of €36,911m.

Other investment assets increased by €55,162m while other investment liabilities increased by €42,368m in the first quarter of 2019, both mainly due to the activity of IFSC enterprises.

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	Other² Investment	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	112,960	-5,571	-69,731	-3,366	-78,668	34,292	-53,038	24,401	-5,671	-32,976	770	-13,475	5,270

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	29,060	-151	-16,681	-902	-17,734	11,325	-436	11,865	9,333	-21,878	-22	-702	-11,591
	Quarter 2	28,803	-986	-16,269	-987	-18,242	10,561	-377	9,670	-27,047	35,166	5	17,794	7,610
	Quarter 3	28,220	527	-16,561	-759	-16,793	11,427	-44	10,784	-2,409	1,680	209	10,265	-1,119
	Quarter 4	26,877	-4,961	-20,220	-718	-25,899	979	-52,181	-7,918	14,452	-47,944	578	-40,832	10,370
2019	Quarter 1	32,151	-1,224	-18,682	-1,256	-21,162	10,990	-6,743	2,627	-3,748	12,795	2	11,675	7,428
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 2019 Table 1.2 (XLS 21KB)

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Table 1.3 Current and Capital Accounts

Table 1.3 Current and Capital Accounts												€ million
		2017	2018	2017				2018				2019
Item				Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1
Current Account
Merchandise¹	Exports	197,824	216,307	47,901	47,323	48,977	53,623	51,390	53,698	53,773	57,446	57,145
	Imports	88,705	103,346	22,714	22,777	20,314	22,900	22,331	24,894	25,553	30,568	24,994

International trade	Exports	122,747	140,626	32,172	31,066	28,974	30,535	33,837	35,564	34,090	37,135	38,018
	Imports	80,510	88,611	20,389	21,086	18,005	21,030	19,490	21,245	22,304	25,572	19,803
Goods for processing	Exports	64,962	68,196	16,055	12,600	16,107	20,200	15,979	15,884	17,932	18,401	17,500
	Imports	4,744	11,514	1,516	818	1,473	937	2,300	2,831	2,322	4,061	4,308
Other conceptual adjustments	Exports	358	-1,002	-3,073	1,150	2,079	202	-375	333	-200	-760	-1
	Imports	3,452	3,222	810	873	836	933	541	818	928	935	882
Merchanting (net export)	Exports	9,759	8,488	2,747	2,508	1,817	2,687	1,950	1,916	1,952	2,670	1,628

Services	Exports	161,831	180,077	36,393	39,417	39,955	46,066	39,696	43,701	46,004	50,676	46,484
	Imports	205,323	185,647	39,831	78,160	39,695	47,637	39,847	44,687	45,476	55,637	47,708
Repairs and Processing	Exports	1,994	1,899	446	475	502	571	439	463	430	567	488
	Imports	4,765	5,452	1,090	1,094	1,038	1,543	976	1,093	1,281	2,102	1,561
Transport	Exports	8,088	7,746	1,190	2,149	3,099	1,650	1,238	2,112	2,832	1,564	1,150
	Imports	2,599	3,109	652	672	604	671	681	733	753	942	767
Tourism and Travel²	Exports	4,972	5,237	708	1,433	1,762	1,069	817	1,500	1,847	1,073	774
	Imports	5,814	6,270	1,077	1,407	2,063	1,267	1,195	1,566	2,091	1,418	1,403
Insurance	Exports	9,747	9,664	2,464	2,411	2,329	2,543	2,547	2,433	2,307	2,377	2,531
	Imports	6,967	8,040	1,710	1,773	1,661	1,823	2,139	2,027	1,926	1,948	2,211
Financial services	Exports	15,544	15,354	3,819	3,694	3,923	4,108	3,921	3,819	3,805	3,809	3,845
	Imports	12,923	12,851	3,177	3,073	3,243	3,430	3,286	3,202	3,166	3,197	3,452
Royalties/Licences	Exports	9,100	11,777	1,544	1,736	2,948	2,872	2,540	3,299	3,025	2,913	2,040
	Imports	66,662	72,180	16,759	16,743	15,291	17,869	16,458	17,940	18,076	19,706	18,798
of which: Pharmaceutical products and preparations	Exports	603	84	46	*	258	*	32	16	18	18	17
	Imports	18,888	15,369	5,198	5,300	4,227	4,163	3,545	4,152	3,656	4,016	3,877
Information and communication	Exports	2,472	4,135	177	*	*	1,069	1,111	1,407	1,010	607	355
	Imports	33,705	40,608	7,788	8,215	7,652	10,050	8,858	9,768	10,234	11,748	11,105
Communications	Exports	657	415	166	167	162	162	112	107	103	93	88
	Imports	693	570	142	177	179	195	139	139	144	148	140
Computer services³	Exports	68,080	86,222	15,555	16,732	16,172	19,621	18,723	20,295	21,357	25,847	24,463
	Imports	3,232	4,331	503	756	830	1,143	809	1,090	1,088	1,344	1,091
Business services	Exports	39,553	38,025	9,630	9,690	8,309	11,924	8,490	8,799	9,305	11,431	10,802
	Imports	101,024	72,155	14,564	52,304	14,625	19,531	13,993	16,725	16,779	24,658	18,103
Research and development	Exports	6,729	2,988	1,147	1,165	633	3,784	607	588	573	1,220	787
	Imports	55,157	22,901	4,135	41,545	3,576	5,901	3,569	4,391	4,875	10,066	4,370
of which: IP related	Exports	4,508	692	*	*	82	3,236	82	*	35	*	185
	Imports	41,477	5,353	*	38,312	*	2,029	124	*	143	*	146
Operational leasing	Exports	13,542	12,910	3,404	3,336	3,445	3,357	3,015	3,111	3,312	3,472	3,380
	Imports	915	728	354	195	183	183	168	171	197	192	274
Misc. business services⁴	Exports	19,282	22,126	5,079	5,190	4,230	4,783	4,868	5,100	5,420	6,738	6,635
	Imports	44,952	48,526	10,075	10,564	10,866	13,447	10,256	12,163	11,707	14,400	13,458
Other services n.e.s.	Exports	4,096	3,741	870	930	750	1,546	869	877	993	1,002	303
	Imports	639	687	156	160	159	164	169	171	172	175	181

Merchandise and Services - Total	Exports	359,655	396,384	84,294	86,740	88,932	99,689	91,086	97,399	99,777	108,122	103,629
	Imports	294,028	288,994	62,545	100,937	60,009	70,537	62,178	69,581	71,030	86,205	72,701

Trade Balance	Net	65,627	107,390	21,749	-14,197	28,923	29,152	28,909	27,817	28,747	21,917	30,928

Primary Income	Inflows	79,418	83,098	18,215	20,773	19,926	20,504	18,528	23,148	22,926	18,496	22,849
	Outflows	140,481	152,828	33,354	37,165	33,828	36,134	35,209	39,417	39,487	38,715	41,531
Compensation of Employees	Inflows	528	528	131	131	135	131	131	131	135	131	131
	Outflows	643	626	160	160	159	164	155	156	156	159	162
Investment Income	Inflows	77,385	81,003	17,737	20,294	19,410	19,944	18,027	22,643	22,395	17,938	22,367
	Outflows	139,522	151,894	33,120	36,936	33,590	35,876	34,977	39,196	39,257	38,464	41,289
Direct investment income	Inflows	20,821	17,715	4,260	4,502	5,488	6,571	3,952	5,234	5,736	2,793	4,682
	Outflows	72,631	76,992	17,988	17,847	17,292	19,504	19,017	18,032	20,505	19,438	21,721

of which: Manufacturing	Outflows	38,250	41,986	9,939	7,970	9,159	11,182	10,402	9,566	11,437	10,581	12,946
Information and communication	Outflows	11,135	11,498	2,276	3,353	2,706	2,800	3,195	2,298	2,962	3,043	3,036

Income on equity	Inflows	18,201	15,434	3,521	3,775	4,847	6,058	3,680	4,623	5,035	2,096	4,194
	Outflows	66,821	71,316	16,340	16,343	15,874	18,264	17,877	16,650	19,007	17,782	20,568
Dividends & distributed	Inflows	777	2,174	37	298	194	248	36	*	240	*	12
branch profits	Outflows	12,456	14,797	2,695	3,087	3,894	2,780	3,473	3,001	4,470	3,853	2,727
Reinvested earnings	Inflows	17,425	13,259	3,484	3,478	4,653	5,810	3,644	*	4,794	*	4,181
	Outflows	54,364	56,519	13,645	13,255	11,980	15,484	14,404	13,649	14,537	13,929	17,841
Income on debt	Inflows	2,619	2,280	739	727	640	513	272	610	702	696	489
	Outflows	5,809	5,677	1,648	1,504	1,417	1,240	1,140	1,383	1,498	1,656	1,153
Portfolio investment income	Inflows	46,263	51,429	10,835	13,141	11,352	10,935	11,531	14,524	13,323	12,051	13,800
	Outflows	56,704	63,763	12,691	16,597	13,716	13,700	13,575	18,361	15,810	16,017	15,870
Income on equity	Inflows	14,867	16,683	3,322	5,095	3,563	2,887	3,441	5,801	4,403	3,038	4,396
	Outflows	47,981	55,247	10,431	14,401	11,560	11,589	11,527	16,242	13,733	13,745	13,907
Income on debt	Inflows	31,396	34,745	7,513	8,046	7,789	8,048	8,090	8,723	8,920	9,012	9,404
	Outflows	8,723	8,516	2,260	2,196	2,156	2,111	2,048	2,119	2,077	2,272	1,963
Other investment income	Inflows	10,301	11,859	2,642	2,651	2,570	2,438	2,544	2,885	3,336	3,094	3,885
	Outflows	10,188	11,140	2,442	2,492	2,582	2,672	2,385	2,803	2,943	3,009	3,699
Other primary income	Inflows	1,504	1,566	346	347	382	429	370	374	395	427	351
	Outflows	317	309	74	69	79	95	77	66	74	92	80

Secondary Income	Inflows	5,366	4,996	1,331	1,180	1,484	1,371	1,372	1,221	1,157	1,246	1,196
	Outflows	8,472	8,361	1,947	2,350	2,110	2,065	2,274	2,208	1,916	1,963	2,452

Income Balance	Net	-64,168	-73,097	-15,755	-17,562	-14,527	-16,324	-17,583	-17,256	-17,320	-20,938	-19,938

Current Account - Total	Inflows	444,439	484,477	103,840	108,693	110,342	121,564	110,986	121,768	123,860	127,863	127,674
	Outflows	442,981	450,185	97,845	140,452	95,947	108,737	99,661	111,207	112,433	126,884	116,684

Current Account Balance	Net	1,457	34,292	5,994	-31,759	14,395	12,827	11,325	10,561	11,427	979	10,990

Capital Account Balance	Net	-25,855	-53,038	-8,538	-12,079	-4,640	-598	-436	-377	-44	-52,181	-6,743

Memorandum Item:
Government Income	Inflows	93	1,667	21	23	25	24	396	399	418	454	371
	Outflows	3,666	3,763	958	939	932	837	944	941	939	939	939
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: International Accounts Q1 2019 Table 1.3 (XLS 20KB)

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Table 1.4 Financial Account

Table 1.4 Financial Account¹												€ million
		2017	2018	2017				2018				2019
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1

Direct Investment	Abroad	-1,813	616	62	48,243	8,410	-58,528	-2,142	-35,017	1,331	36,444	10,051
	In Ireland	46,770	-23,785	2,369	69,618	1,922	-27,139	-14,007	-44,687	-9,453	44,362	7,424

Equity	Abroad	-32,637	-21,769	-23,050	59,924	-8,151	-61,360	-6,248	*	-1,569	*	38,185
	In Ireland	-982	-48,381	-6,034	48,864	2,049	-45,861	-11,449	-49,778	-1,042	13,888	18,682
Reinvested Earnings	Abroad	17,425	13,259	3,484	3,478	4,653	5,810	3,644	*	4,794	*	4,181
	In Ireland	54,364	56,519	13,645	13,255	11,980	15,484	14,404	13,649	14,537	13,929	17,841
Other Capital	Abroad	13,400	9,123	19,628	-15,158	11,908	-2,978	462	25,029	-1,895	-14,473	-32,316
	In Ireland	-6,612	-31,924	-5,242	7,499	-12,107	3,238	-16,962	-8,558	-22,948	16,544	-29,098

Portfolio Investment	Assets	253,495	125,948	79,257	44,069	64,041	66,128	77,374	10,612	25,415	12,547	36,887
	Liabilities	311,137	131,618	94,866	85,495	63,589	67,187	68,041	37,659	27,823	-1,905	40,636

Equity	Assets	92,170	47,815	23,979	27,118	26,217	14,856	28,260	13,591	11,343	-5,379	16,704
	Liabilities	306,005	125,309	76,748	91,614	69,791	67,852	62,489	37,260	24,985	575	36,911
Debt Instruments	Assets	161,324	78,134	55,278	16,950	37,824	51,272	49,115	-2,979	14,072	17,926	20,183
	Liabilities	5,132	6,310	18,118	-6,119	-6,202	-665	5,552	399	2,838	-2,479	3,725
Bonds and notes	Assets	117,585	70,425	33,608	40,402	21,011	22,564	31,672	9,994	22,489	6,270	43,631
	Liabilities	1,504	11,663	14,319	-9,306	-5,273	1,764	2,685	919	7,863	196	4,773
Money market instruments	Assets	43,739	7,708	21,671	-23,452	16,813	28,707	17,443	-12,973	-8,418	11,656	-23,448
	Liabilities	3,630	-5,353	3,799	3,188	-928	-2,429	2,867	-520	-5,025	-2,675	-1,048

Other Investment	Assets	89,957	123,517	-16,053	24,478	33,097	48,435	25,716	89,920	39,796	-31,915	55,162
	Liabilities	831	156,493	-22,242	-3,893	26,237	729	47,594	54,754	38,116	16,029	42,368

Loans, currency and deposits	Assets	103,952	48,425	4,536	33,078	19,991	46,347	19,502	36,168	14,479	-21,724	50,193
	Liabilities	25,086	112,823	15,577	1,373	15,929	-7,793	30,760	24,305	17,724	40,034	27,542
Other²	Assets	-13,994	75,090	-20,588	-8,600	13,106	2,088	6,214	53,752	25,316	-10,192	4,969
	Liabilities	-24,256	43,668	-37,819	-5,265	10,307	8,521	16,834	30,448	20,391	-24,005	14,826

Reserve Assets		399	770	-101	163	235	102	-22	5	209	578	2

Monetary gold		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Special drawing rights		-43	14	12	0	-39	-16	-16	5	15	10	10
Reserve position in the IMF		0	-1	0	0	0	0	-11	10	0	0	0
Foreign exchange		158	250	43	148	90	-123	-14	1	-36	299	127
Other		285	508	-156	15	185	241	19	-11	231	269	-136

Balance on Financial Account		-16,700	-13,475	-11,827	-34,268	14,035	15,360	-702	17,794	10,265	-40,832	11,675

Net errors and omissions		7,697	5,270	-9,283	9,570	4,279	3,131	-11,591	7,610	-1,119	10,370	7,428
Memorandum Item:
Government financial	Assets	426	14,211	46	407	27	-54	-1,095	4,367	9,886	1,053	-1,871
transactions	Liabilities	1,377	17,084	6,543	2,995	-631	-7,530	5,771	7,549	9,749	-5,985	5,025
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
		2017	2018	2017				2018				2019
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1
Current Account - Total	Inflows	444,439	484,477	103,840	108,693	110,342	121,564	110,986	121,768	123,860	127,863	127,674
	Outflows	442,981	450,185	97,845	140,452	95,947	108,737	99,661	111,207	112,433	126,884	116,684

Merchandise²	Exports	197,824	216,307	47,901	47,323	48,977	53,623	51,390	53,698	53,773	57,446	57,145
	Imports	88,705	103,346	22,714	22,777	20,314	22,900	22,331	24,894	25,553	30,568	24,994

Services	Exports	161,831	180,077	36,393	39,417	39,955	46,066	39,696	43,701	46,004	50,676	46,484
	Imports	205,323	185,647	39,831	78,160	39,695	47,637	39,847	44,687	45,476	55,637	47,708

IFSC	Exports	39,589	38,808	9,840	9,801	9,825	10,123	9,617	9,670	9,554	9,967	10,254
	Imports	23,452	25,451	5,851	5,634	5,789	6,178	6,517	6,525	6,131	6,278	6,960
Non-IFSC	Exports	122,242	141,267	26,553	29,616	30,130	35,943	30,078	34,031	36,448	40,710	36,229
	Imports	181,872	160,194	33,980	72,526	33,906	41,460	33,329	38,162	39,345	49,358	40,747

Primary Income	Inflows	79,418	83,098	18,215	20,773	19,926	20,504	18,528	23,148	22,926	18,496	22,849
	Outflows	140,481	152,828	33,354	37,165	33,828	36,134	35,209	39,417	39,487	38,715	41,531

IFSC	Inflows	59,764	64,579	14,416	16,450	14,709	14,189	14,147	17,634	17,141	15,657	17,878
	Outflows	67,061	72,801	16,013	18,551	16,393	16,104	15,800	19,762	18,855	18,384	19,127
Non-IFSC	Inflows	19,654	18,519	3,799	4,323	5,217	6,315	4,381	5,514	5,785	2,839	4,972
	Outflows	73,422	80,026	17,341	18,614	17,436	20,031	19,410	19,654	20,631	20,331	22,404

Secondary Income	Inflows	5,366	4,996	1,331	1,180	1,484	1,371	1,372	1,221	1,157	1,246	1,196
	Outflows	8,472	8,361	1,947	2,350	2,110	2,065	2,274	2,208	1,916	1,963	2,452

IFSC³	Inflows	4,311	4,063	1,035	881	1,238	1,157	1,168	1,011	965	919	1,009
	Outflows	4,311	4,063	1,035	881	1,238	1,157	1,168	1,011	965	919	1,009
Non-IFSC	Inflows	1,056	934	296	299	246	215	204	211	192	327	187
	Outflows	4,161	4,300	912	1,469	872	908	1,106	1,198	951	1,045	1,443

Balance on Current Account		1,457	34,292	5,994	-31,759	14,395	12,827	11,325	10,561	11,427	979	10,990

Balance on Capital Account		-25,855	-53,038	-8,538	-12,079	-4,640	-598	-436	-377	-44	-52,181	-6,743

Financial Account⁴
Direct investment	Abroad	-1,813	616	62	48,243	8,410	-58,528	-2,142	-35,017	1,331	36,444	10,051
	In Ireland	46,770	-23,785	2,369	69,618	1,922	-27,139	-14,007	-44,687	-9,453	44,362	7,424

IFSC	Abroad	5,606	-2,856	4,716	-27	-131	1,048	-3,382	592	-508	442	1,118
	In Ireland	5,198	-17,427	-1,590	-14,038	1,541	19,285	-14,885	-3,169	6,263	-5,636	-20,526
Non-IFSC	Abroad	-7,419	3,471	-4,654	48,270	8,541	-59,576	1,240	-35,610	1,839	36,002	8,933
	In Ireland	41,572	-6,359	3,959	83,656	381	-46,424	878	-41,518	-15,717	49,998	27,950

Portfolio investment	Assets	253,495	125,948	79,257	44,069	64,041	66,128	77,374	10,612	25,415	12,547	36,887
	Liabilities	311,137	131,618	94,866	85,495	63,589	67,187	68,041	37,659	27,823	-1,905	40,636

IFSC	Assets	246,210	122,935	76,183	45,007	60,769	64,251	76,457	9,270	24,701	12,507	34,615
	Liabilities	308,952	128,467	88,710	84,744	66,034	69,464	60,923	32,199	29,465	5,880	37,556
Non-IFSC	Assets	7,285	3,013	3,074	-938	3,272	1,877	917	1,342	714	40	2,273
	Liabilities	2,184	3,152	6,155	751	-2,445	-2,277	7,118	5,460	-1,641	-7,785	3,079

Other investment⁵	Assets	89,957	123,517	-16,053	24,478	33,097	48,435	25,716	89,920	39,796	-31,915	55,162
	Liabilities	831	156,493	-22,242	-3,893	26,237	729	47,594	54,754	38,116	16,029	42,368

IFSC	Assets	86,264	98,326	-3,404	17,296	27,998	44,374	28,692	69,283	29,339	-28,988	51,318
	Liabilities	8,577	137,690	-11,984	-3,146	21,844	1,863	54,675	48,444	16,438	18,133	49,327
Non-IFSC	Assets	3,695	25,191	-12,648	7,182	5,099	4,062	-2,976	20,637	10,457	-2,927	3,844
	Liabilities	-7,747	18,803	-10,258	-747	4,392	-1,134	-7,081	6,310	21,678	-2,104	-6,960

Reserve Assets		399	770	-101	163	235	102	-22	5	209	578	2

Balance on Financial Account		-16,700	-13,475	-11,827	-34,268	14,035	15,360	-702	17,794	10,265	-40,832	11,675
Net errors and omissions		7,697	5,270	-9,283	9,570	4,279	3,131	-11,591	7,610	-1,119	10,370	7,428
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
		2017	2018	2017				2018				2019
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1

Current Account - Total	Inflows	444,439	484,477	103,840	108,693	110,342	121,564	110,986	121,768	123,860	127,863	127,674
	Outflows	442,981	450,185	97,845	140,452	95,947	108,737	99,661	111,207	112,433	126,884	116,684

Merchandise²	Exports	197,824	216,307	47,901	47,323	48,977	53,623	51,390	53,698	53,773	57,446	57,145
	Imports	88,705	103,346	22,714	22,777	20,314	22,900	22,331	24,894	25,553	30,568	24,994
EMU	Exports	50,582	56,060	14,052	12,307	11,157	13,066	13,786	15,164	14,330	12,780	18,576
	Imports	31,461	33,383	9,269	7,912	6,738	7,542	7,029	8,767	8,817	8,770	7,255
Non-EMU	Exports	147,242	160,247	33,849	35,016	37,820	40,557	37,605	38,534	39,443	44,665	38,569
	Imports	57,246	69,963	13,446	14,865	13,576	15,359	15,301	16,128	16,736	21,798	17,738
EU	Exports	81,198	85,953	21,862	20,243	18,370	20,723	20,770	22,318	21,783	21,082	25,864
	Imports	56,981	60,806	15,205	14,315	12,893	14,568	13,423	15,349	15,602	16,432	14,540
Non-EU	Exports	116,625	130,355	26,038	27,080	30,607	32,900	30,621	31,380	31,990	36,364	31,281
	Imports	31,724	42,541	7,509	8,462	7,421	8,332	8,907	9,546	9,952	14,136	10,453

Services	Exports	161,831	180,077	36,393	39,417	39,955	46,066	39,696	43,701	46,004	50,676	46,484
	Imports	205,323	185,647	39,831	78,160	39,695	47,637	39,847	44,687	45,476	55,637	47,708
EMU	Exports	38,163	42,811	8,878	9,405	9,503	10,377	9,268	10,405	11,236	11,902	10,868
	Imports	42,532	47,202	9,551	11,118	9,726	12,137	10,398	11,790	11,856	13,158	12,220
Non-EMU	Exports	123,668	137,266	27,516	30,012	30,451	35,689	30,428	33,296	34,768	38,774	35,616
	Imports	162,791	138,444	30,280	67,042	29,969	35,500	29,449	32,896	33,620	42,479	35,487
EU	Exports	73,502	81,175	16,893	18,233	18,642	19,734	17,955	19,760	21,243	22,217	20,559
	Imports	59,924	67,501	13,572	15,109	14,003	17,240	15,241	16,709	16,980	18,571	17,654
Non-EU	Exports	88,331	98,902	19,501	21,184	21,313	26,333	21,741	23,941	24,760	28,460	25,925
	Imports	145,396	118,146	26,258	63,050	25,691	30,397	24,606	27,978	28,496	37,066	30,054

Primary Income	Inflows	79,418	83,098	18,215	20,773	19,926	20,504	18,528	23,148	22,926	18,496	22,849
	Outflows	140,481	152,828	33,354	37,165	33,828	36,134	35,209	39,417	39,487	38,715	41,531
EMU	Inflows	28,969	31,194	6,662	7,444	7,363	7,500	7,556	8,099	8,851	6,688	9,186
	Outflows	43,894	48,238	9,895	12,202	10,392	11,405	10,900	12,310	12,770	12,258	12,811
Non-EMU	Inflows	50,449	51,904	11,553	13,328	12,564	13,004	10,972	15,049	14,075	11,808	13,664
	Outflows	96,588	104,591	23,459	24,963	23,436	24,730	24,309	27,107	26,717	26,458	28,721
EU	Inflows	50,376	53,402	11,958	12,699	12,580	13,139	12,780	14,011	14,901	11,710	15,201
	Outflows	75,115	83,336	17,021	20,910	18,472	18,712	18,234	22,156	21,892	21,054	21,355
Non-EU	Inflows	29,042	29,695	6,256	8,074	7,347	7,365	5,748	9,136	8,025	6,786	7,649
	Outflows	65,365	69,492	16,332	16,255	15,356	17,422	16,975	17,261	17,595	17,661	20,177

Secondary Income	Inflows	5,366	4,996	1,331	1,180	1,484	1,371	1,372	1,221	1,157	1,246	1,196
	Outflows	8,472	8,361	1,947	2,350	2,110	2,065	2,274	2,208	1,916	1,963	2,452
EMU	Inflows	1,825	1,629	416	275	518	616	453	362	435	379	337
	Outflows	1,955	1,736	407	315	570	663	466	385	474	411	361
Non-EMU	Inflows	3,542	3,368	915	906	966	755	919	860	722	867	859
	Outflows	6,516	6,626	1,539	2,036	1,540	1,401	1,808	1,824	1,442	1,552	2,090
EU	Inflows	4,148	3,872	1,025	862	1,149	1,112	1,032	918	900	1,022	874
	Outflows	6,707	6,643	1,520	1,892	1,663	1,632	1,824	1,754	1,523	1,542	1,995
Non-EU	Inflows	1,219	1,126	306	319	335	259	341	303	258	224	322
	Outflows	1,765	1,718	427	458	447	433	450	454	393	421	457

Balance on Current Account		1,457	34,292	5,994	-31,759	14,395	12,827	11,325	10,561	11,427	979	10,990

Balance on Capital Account		-25,855	-53,038	-8,538	-12,079	-4,640	-598	-436	-377	-44	-52,181	-6,743

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.

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Table 1.7 Financial Account showing geographical detail

Table 1.7 Financial Account¹ showing geographical² detail												€ million
		2017	2018	2017				2018				2019
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1

Direct Investment	Abroad	-1,813	616	62	48,243	8,410	-58,528	-2,142	-35,017	1,331	36,444	10,051
	In Ireland	46,770	-23,785	2,369	69,618	1,922	-27,139	-14,007	-44,687	-9,453	44,362	7,424

EMU	Abroad	-51,668	-48,533	-2,960	22,702	4,662	-76,072	-36,626	-34,618	-2,733	25,444	19,330
	In Ireland	82,941	-132,508	14,014	71,524	-2,172	-425	-67,585	-54,799	179	-10,303	56,029
Non-EMU	Abroad	49,855	49,149	3,022	25,542	3,747	17,544	34,485	-399	4,063	11,000	-9,279
	In Ireland	-36,172	108,722	-11,645	-1,906	4,093	-26,714	53,578	10,111	-9,632	54,665	-48,605
EU	Abroad	-45,983	-52,656	-2,455	26,217	3,971	-73,716	-37,192	-33,279	-1,865	19,680	26,111
	In Ireland	87,470	-170,667	11,503	74,023	-5,302	7,246	-92,771	-53,018	-107	-24,771	58,011
Non-EU	Abroad	44,170	53,272	2,517	22,026	4,439	15,188	35,051	-1,738	3,195	16,764	-16,060
	In Ireland	-40,700	146,881	-9,134	-4,405	7,224	-34,385	78,764	8,330	-9,346	69,133	-50,587

Portfolio Investment	Assets	253,495	125,948	79,257	44,069	64,041	66,128	77,374	10,612	25,415	12,547	36,887
	Liabilities	311,137	131,618	94,866	85,495	63,589	67,187	68,041	37,659	27,823	-1,905	40,636

EMU	Assets	55,402	25,274	16,025	15,283	6,648	17,446	10,961	-4,610	6,542	12,381	16,981
	Liabilities	111,328	60,368	43,019	29,992	15,626	22,691	24,316	15,374	12,185	8,493	-662
Non-EMU	Assets	198,092	100,673	63,232	28,786	57,392	48,682	66,414	15,221	18,872	166	19,907
	Liabilities	199,810	71,252	51,847	55,504	47,963	44,496	43,725	22,285	15,639	-10,397	41,298
EU	Assets	123,932	6,496	40,801	36,259	6,543	40,329	12,344	844	21,932	-28,624	28,417
	Liabilities	278,429	108,093	89,171	74,852	48,420	65,986	52,060	25,145	19,529	11,359	37,403
Non-EU	Assets	129,561	119,452	38,455	7,810	57,498	25,798	65,030	9,768	3,483	41,171	8,470
	Liabilities	32,707	23,526	5,695	10,643	15,169	1,200	15,981	12,514	8,295	-13,264	3,233

Other Investment³	Assets	89,957	123,517	-16,053	24,478	33,097	48,435	25,716	89,920	39,796	-31,915	55,162
	Liabilities	831	156,493	-22,242	-3,893	26,237	729	47,594	54,754	38,116	16,029	42,368

EMU	Assets	34,052	12,768	5,126	9,532	-4,057	23,451	15,703	18,018	-9,399	-11,554	52,899
	Liabilities	-9,172	11,654	556	-5,153	3,668	-8,243	5,792	10,640	3,510	-8,288	30,601
Non-EMU	Assets	55,905	110,748	-21,179	14,946	37,154	24,984	10,013	71,902	49,195	-20,362	2,263
	Liabilities	10,003	144,839	-22,798	1,260	22,569	8,972	41,802	44,114	34,606	24,317	11,767
EU	Assets	121,104	130,766	34,048	19,058	24,553	43,445	30,582	63,875	21,548	14,761	60,071
	Liabilities	34,212	86,273	13,008	6,670	7,412	7,122	31,826	38,969	9,219	6,259	36,433
Non-EU	Assets	-31,146	-7,251	-50,100	5,420	8,544	4,990	-4,867	26,045	18,248	-46,677	-4,909
	Liabilities	-33,381	70,219	-35,251	-10,562	18,825	-6,393	15,768	15,785	28,896	9,770	5,934

Reserve Assets		399	770	-101	163	235	102	-22	5	209	578	2

Balance on Financial Account		-16,700	-13,475	-11,827	-34,268	14,035	15,360	-702	17,794	10,265	-40,832	11,675

Net errors and omissions		7,697	5,270	-9,283	9,570	4,279	3,131	-11,591	7,610	-1,119	10,370	7,428
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.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: International Accounts Q1 2019 Table 1.7 (XLS 19KB)

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International Accounts Q1 2019

Balance of International Payments

Balance of International Payments

Current account surplus of €11bn in Quarter 1 2019

Current account (see Table 1.3)

Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)

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