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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 release, , 11am

Current account with UK shows a deficit of €5bn in Quarter 1 2025

MerchandiseServicesIncomeCurrent Account
Q4 2022-2.2094.372-4.315-2.295
Q1 2023-2.3794.073-5.71-4.015
Q2 2023-1.4364.09-7.967-5.312
Q3 2023-2.0724.888-7.254-4.438
Q4 2023-2.3975.013-7.129-4.514
Q1 2024-0.9323.586-7.615-4.962
Q2 2024-1.4064.113-8.887-6.181
Q3 2024-1.5575.856-9.181-4.881
Q4 2024-1.9575.163-9.637-6.431
Q1 2025-1.8744.484-8.061-5.45

Current account with UK (See Table 4.1)

  • Merchandise exports were €6,010m in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of €1,122m compared with the first quarter of 2024.
  • Merchandise imports were €7,884m in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of €180m compared with the same period in 2024.
  • Services exports at €12,596m increased by €744m compared to the first quarter of 2024, mainly due to computer services and business services exports.
  • Services imports at €8,112m were down €154m over that same period in 2024, these figures were affected by decreased levels of financial services imports.
  • Investment income earned in UK at €11,796m, increased by €598m compared with one year earlier and investment income payable to UK investors at €19,825m increased by €999m.
  • When these effects are combined, the trade balance with the UK has decreased by €43m and net income outflows have increased by €446m, compared with the first quarter of 2024. The result is a deficit of €5,450m in the first quarter of 2025, compared to a deficit of €4,962m in the same period in 2024.

The experimental table on foreign direct investment with UK (See Table 3.2); shows that direct investment in Ireland from the UK has decreased by €1,714m in the first quarter of 2025 mainly due to a decrease in other capital investment in Ireland from the UK. Direct investment abroad from Ireland to the UK has increased by €6m in the first quarter of 2025.

Table 4.1 Current Account with the UK

Table 4.2 Foreign Direct Investment with the UK

Current account with US shows deficit of €24.8bn in Quarter 1 2025

MerchandiseServicesIncomeCurrent Account
201630.81-33.7192.388-0.521
201728.058-28.794-6.21-6.946
201835.062-23.565-5.1466.351
201944.7-20.674-4.0319.996
202051.391-68.178-1.492-18.279
202141.36-97.379-58.254-114.273
202253.187-127.117-90.25-164.18
202349.967-132.098-62.599-144.73
202466.044-155.894-65.078-154.928

Current account with US (See Table 4.3)

  • Merchandise exports were €53,641m in the first quarter of 2025 an increase of €37,047m compared with the first quarter of 2024.
  • Merchandise imports were €2,999m in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of €51m compared with the first quarter of 2024.
  • Services exports at €14,447m decreased by €1,683m compared to the first quarter of 2024.
  • Services imports at €66,918m were up €19,273m over that same period in 2024.
  • Investment income earned in the US at €20,540m, increased by €462m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to US investors at €43,607m increased by €7,274m.
  • When these effects are combined, the trade balance with the US has increased by €16,040m and net income outflows have increased by €6,814m, compared with the first quarter of 2024. The result is a current account balance deficit of €24,831m in the first quarter of 2025, down from a deficit of €34,057m in the first quarter of 2024.

These 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 4.4 Current Account with US - Quarterly

Net IIP vis-à-vis the US reaches €983bn by end-2024

X-axis labelDirect InvestmentPortfolio InvestmentOther InvestmentReserve AssetsNet IIP
2016-52.712.2110-29.6
2017-36.132.97.50.14.4
2018-62.644.86.30.2-11.3
2019-30.954.112.50.336
2020-14.5106.770.599.6
2021-39.6119.216.90.697.1
2022-4298.616.70.573.9
2023-55.3142.415.60.5103.2
2024-43201.116.10.5174.7

Net IIP vis-à-vis the US (see Table 4.5)

At the end of 2024, Ireland's net international investment position vis-à-vis the United States stood at €983bn or 184% of GDP, up from €542bn or 106% of GDP at the end of 2023. The increase in NIIP vis-a-vis the US was mainly driven by a 24% year-on-year increase in the stock of foreign assets, which stood at €597bn at end-2024. The stock of foreign financial liabilities vis-à-vis the US grew by 12% during the year. This was influenced by an annual increase in portfolio investment (24%) and other investment (22%), and an annual decrease in direct investment (-30%).

Table 4.5 International Investment Position (IIP) vis-à-vis the United States classified by Functional Category - Annual