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International Accounts Q2 2026

Accounts with the UK and US

Accounts with the UK and the US

Current Account Balances with UK and US both show deficits for Quarter 2 2026

Online ISSN: 2565-6384

CSO statistical release, 04 September 2026, 11am

Current account with UK shows a deficit of €4.0bn in Quarter 2 2026

	Merchandise	Services	Income	Current Account
Q1 2024	-0.766	3.687	-7.872	-4.951
Q2 2024	-1.131	4.398	-9.789	-6.522
Q3 2024	-1.176	6.099	-9.642	-4.72
Q4 2024	-1.693	5.593	-10.779	-6.878
Q1 2025	-1.55032	5.02177	-9.55936	-6.08792
Q2 2025	-1.36897	5.20477	-10.67096	-6.83517
Q3 2025	-1.63091	5.84228	-8.78644	-4.57508
Q4 2025	-0.511139999999999	6.44649	-7.17718	-1.24183
Q1 2026	0.995719999999999	5.41371	-7.64766	-1.23822
Q2 2026	0.93288	5.58081	-10.51017	-3.99647

Current account with UK (See Table 3.1)

Merchandise exports were €8,862m in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of €2,477m compared with the second quarter of 2025.
Merchandise imports were €7,929m in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of €176m compared with the same period in 2025.
Services exports at €15,612m increased by €1,079m compared to the second quarter of 2025, mainly due to computer services and business services exports.
Services imports at €10,031m were up €703m over that same period in 2025, these figures were affected by increased levels of business services imports.
Investment income earned in UK at €10,089m, decreased by €1,715m compared with one year earlier and investment income payable to UK investors at €20,619m decreased by €1,874m.
When these effects are combined, the trade balance with the UK has increased by €2,678m and net income outflows have increased by €161m, compared with the second quarter of 2025. The result is a deficit of €3,996m in the second quarter of 2026, compared to a deficit of €6,835m in the same period in 2025.

The experimental table on foreign direct investment with UK (See Table 3.2); shows that direct investment in Ireland from the UK has increased by €1,037m in the second quarter of 2026 mainly due to an increase in equity and other capital investment in Ireland from the UK. Direct investment abroad from Ireland to the UK has decreased by €6,661m in the second quarter of 2026.

Table 3.1 Current Account with UK

Table 3.1 Current Account with UK									€ million
		2024	2025	2025				2026
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2
Current Account
Merchandise¹	Exports	27,128	26,677	6,423	6,384	6,204	7,666	8,570	8,862
	Imports	31,895	31,738	7,973	7,753	7,835	8,177	7,574	7,929

of which: Merchanting (net export)	Exports	3,942	4,900	1,283	958	988	1,671	1,803	1,726

Services	Exports	55,281	60,313	13,356	14,533	15,632	16,792	14,588	15,612
	Imports	35,504	37,798	8,334	9,329	9,790	10,345	9,175	10,031
Transport	Exports	3,883	3,497	620	1,126	897	854	604	1,107
	Imports	1,014	997	256	244	238	259	245	250
Tourism and Travel²	Exports	1,225	1,182	189	293	384	315	231	336
	Imports	2,312	2,362	458	578	700	626	593	588
Insurance	Exports	3,286	3,453	852	980	815	807	781	825
	Imports	2,237	2,547	460	660	633	794	504	562
Financial services	Exports	8,152	9,259	2,032	2,314	2,506	2,407	2,261	2,326
	Imports	10,253	10,976	2,407	2,854	2,866	2,849	2,571	2,644
Royalties/Licences	Exports	957	741	-40	166	271	345	273	267
	Imports	305	376	50	102	117	107	52	69
Computer services³	Exports	24,170	26,597	6,233	6,071	6,838	7,455	7,276	7,209
	Imports	1,162	1,400	293	405	353	349	377	380
Business services	Exports	7,392	8,453	1,853	2,115	2,041	2,443	2,355	2,748
	Imports	16,590	17,836	4,126	4,233	4,659	4,817	4,706	5,351
(of which: Operational leasing)	Exports	1,042	992	250	245	250	248	233	244
	Imports	134	138	35	34	34	34	34	35
Other	Exports	6,216	7,131	1,617	1,470	1,879	2,165	808	795
	Imports	1,631	1,304	283	251	225	545	127	188

Merchandise and Services Total	Exports	82,409	86,990	19,778	20,918	21,837	24,458	23,158	24,474
	Imports	67,399	69,536	16,307	17,082	17,625	18,522	16,749	17,960

Trade balance	Net	15,010	17,454	3,471	3,836	4,211	5,935	6,409	6,514

Primary Income	Inflows	46,395	47,510	11,437	11,881	11,734	12,459	12,561	10,170
	Outflows	84,959	84,198	21,116	22,671	20,647	19,764	20,335	20,808
(of which : Investment Income)	Inflows	46,111	47,205	11,359	11,804	11,658	12,384	12,480	10,089
	Outflows	84,275	83,474	20,932	22,493	20,469	19,581	20,147	20,619
Direct investment income	Inflows	3,480	6,872	996	1,532	1,689	2,654	3,039	422
	Outflows	6,433	7,228	1,506	1,798	2,162	1,763	1,507	1,575
Portfolio investment income	Inflows	24,153	23,905	6,139	6,182	5,706	5,878	5,841	5,891
	Outflows	70,293	68,269	17,447	18,774	16,117	15,929	16,907	17,115
Other investment income	Inflows	18,478	16,428	4,224	4,090	4,262	3,852	3,600	3,776
	Outflows	7,550	7,977	1,979	1,921	2,189	1,889	1,733	1,928

Secondary Income	Inflows	2,416	2,090	548	556	528	459	540	520
	Outflows	1,934	1,597	428	436	401	331	414	392

Income balance	Net	-38,082	-36,194	-9,559	-10,671	-8,786	-7,177	-7,648	-10,510

Current Account - Total	Inflows	131,220	136,591	31,763	33,354	34,098	37,375	36,260	35,164
	Outflows	154,292	155,331	37,851	40,189	38,673	38,617	37,498	39,161

Current Account Balance with UK	Net	-23,072	-18,740	-6,088	-6,835	-4,575	-1,242	-1,238	-3,996
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 Q2 2026 Table 3.1 (XLS 16KB)

Visit Table BPQ35 on PxStat

Visit Table BPQ36 on PxStat

Visit Table BPQ37 on PxStat

Table 3.2 Foreign Direct Investment with UK

Current account with US shows a deficit of €47.7bn in Quarter 2 2026

	Merchandise	Services	Income	Current Account
Q2 2024	14.953	-38.726	-9.558	-33.33
Q3 2024	18.743	-40.489	-11.448	-33.194
Q4 2024	17.942	-47.699	-26.952	-56.709
Q1 2025	39.057	-53.239	-23.441	-37.622
Q2 2025	20.992	-44.157	-21.817	-44.982
Q3 2025	19.699	-50.538	-21.686	-52.526
Q4 2025	16.927	-55.492	-32.097	-70.662
Q1 2026	7.893	-51.381	-20.666	-64.155
Q2 2026	29.837	-59.208	-18.345	-47.716

Current account with US (See Table 3.3)

Merchandise exports were €34,440m in the second quarter of 2026 an increase of €10,156m compared with the second quarter of 2025.
Merchandise imports were €4,603m in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of €1,310m compared with the second quarter of 2025.
Services exports at €14,053m decreased by €1,481m compared to the second quarter of 2025.
Services imports at €73,262m were up €13,571m over the same period in 2025.
Investment income earned in the US at €25,060m, increased by €516m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to US investors at €43,482m decreased by €2,944m.
When these effects are combined, the trade balance with the US has decreased by €6,206m and net income outflows have decreased by €3,472m, compared with the second quarter of 2025. The result is a current account balance deficit of €47,716m in the second quarter of 2026, up from a deficit of €44,982m in the second quarter of 2025.

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 3.3 Current Account with US - Annual

Table 3.3 Current Account with US - Annual											€ million
Item		2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Current Account
Merchandise¹	Exports	47,072	43,001	51,906	63,899	66,269	53,052	65,570	61,043	80,506	109,364
	Imports	16,262	14,943	16,844	19,199	14,878	11,692	12,383	11,076	15,567	12,690
Net Merchandise		30,810	28,058	35,062	44,700	51,391	41,360	53,187	49,967	64,939	96,674

of which: International Trade	Exports	31,898	33,284	39,347	47,281	50,661	52,700	63,286	54,089	73,632	111,538
	Imports	12,212	14,398	15,334	14,412	11,475	14,897	18,831	20,582	20,685	20,441
of which: Goods for Processing	Exports	14,021	11,489	11,140	14,112	9,669	5,878	789	2,230	2,961	6,919
	Imports	1,055	518	1,538	4,697	-1,951	-4,355	-6,608	-9,776	-5,413	-8,048

Services	Exports	17,997	19,851	26,420	37,578	42,795	47,094	47,558	56,771	65,495	61,451
	Imports	51,716	48,645	49,985	58,252	110,973	144,473	174,675	187,752	224,877	264,877
Net Services		-33,719	-28,794	-23,565	-20,674	-68,178	-97,379	-127,117	-130,980	-159,382	-203,425


Merchandise and Services Total	Exports	65,069	62,852	78,326	101,477	109,064	100,146	113,128	117,814	146,002	170,816
	Imports	67,978	63,588	66,829	77,451	125,851	156,165	187,058	198,827	240,444	277,567

Trade balance	Net	-2,909	-736	11,497	24,026	-16,787	-56,019	-73,930	-81,013	-94,442	-106,751

Primary Income	Inflows	19,249	21,794	23,879	29,838	27,737	36,295	45,946	74,878	96,862	94,058
	Outflows	16,934	28,138	29,154	34,017	29,371	94,758	136,401	137,096	159,558	193,360
Net Primary Income		2,315	-6,344	-5,275	-4,179	-1,634	-58,463	-90,455	-62,219	-62,696	-99,302

of which: Investment Income	Inflows	19,193	21,736	23,820	29,781	27,710	36,279	45,901	74,832	96,807	93,999
	Outflows	16,917	28,117	29,140	34,006	29,360	94,747	136,385	137,077	159,515	193,315
Direct investment income	Inflows	3,295	2,270	909	2,078	4,194	6,392	6,493	9,749	18,558	14,868
	Outflows	3,511	10,803	11,517	11,784	11,075	75,711	111,640	99,538	112,715	148,272
Portfolio investment income	Inflows	13,027	16,398	18,760	21,685	20,002	25,030	31,782	41,992	50,421	53,976
	Outflows	10,465	13,675	14,349	17,427	14,895	14,287	19,381	28,382	29,624	26,127
Other investment income	Inflows	2,871	3,068	4,151	6,018	3,514	4,857	7,626	23,091	27,828	25,155
	Outflows	2,941	3,639	3,274	4,795	3,390	4,749	5,364	9,157	17,176	18,916

Secondary Income	Inflows	464	582	526	565	687	347	1,078	975	962	1,455
	Outflows	391	448	397	416	545	138	873	773	720	1,193

Income balance	Net	2,388	-6,210	-5,146	-4,030	-1,492	-58,254	-90,250	-62,016	-62,454	-99,041

Current Account - Total	Inflows	84,782	85,228	102,731	131,880	137,488	136,788	160,152	193,667	243,826	266,329
	Outflows	85,303	92,174	96,380	111,884	155,767	251,061	324,332	336,696	400,723	472,120

Current Account Balance with US	Net	-521	-6,946	6,351	19,996	-18,279	-114,273	-164,180	-143,030	-156,897	-205,791
¹Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q2 2026 Table 3.3 (XLS 13KB)

Table 3.4 Current Account with US - Quarterly

Table 3.4 Current Account with US - Quarterly									€ million
		2024	2025	2025				2026
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2
Current Account
Merchandise¹	Exports	80,506	109,364	42,072	24,285	23,698	19,310	13,807	34,440
	Imports	15,567	12,690	3,015	3,293	3,999	2,383	5,914	4,603
Net Merchandise		64,939	96,674	39,057	20,992	19,699	16,927	7,893	29,837

of which: International Trade	Exports	73,632	111,538	50,752	24,441	24,530	11,814	12,018	14,282
	Imports	20,685	20,441	5,427	4,447	5,299	5,268	5,324	5,972
of which: Goods for Processing	Exports	2,961	6,919	833	2,401	2,025	1,660	1,568	1,948
	Imports	-5,413	-8,048	-2,478	-1,258	-1,397	-2,915	537	-1,466

Services	Exports	65,495	61,451	15,678	15,534	13,753	16,486	13,620	14,053
	Imports	224,877	264,877	68,917	59,691	64,291	71,978	65,002	73,262
Net Services		-159,382	-203,425	-53,239	-44,157	-50,538	-55,492	-51,382	-59,208


Merchandise and Services Total	Exports	146,002	170,816	57,750	39,819	37,451	35,796	27,427	48,493
	Imports	240,444	277,567	71,931	62,984	68,290	74,361	70,917	77,865

Trade balance	Net	-94,442	-106,751	-14,181	-23,165	-30,840	-38,565	-43,489	-29,371

Primary Income	Inflows	96,862	94,058	23,801	24,558	22,240	23,459	23,892	25,074
	Outflows	159,558	193,360	47,302	46,436	43,993	55,630	44,629	43,492
Net Primary Income		-62,696	-99,302	-23,501	-21,877	-21,753	-32,171	-20,736	-18,419

of which: Investment Income	Inflows	96,807	93,999	23,787	24,544	22,225	23,444	23,879	25,060
	Outflows	159,515	193,315	47,292	46,426	43,983	55,615	44,619	43,482
Direct investment income	Inflows	18,558	14,868	3,717	2,642	3,603	4,906	4,060	4,768
	Outflows	112,715	148,272	35,715	34,916	33,252	44,390	33,138	31,541
Portfolio investment income	Inflows	50,421	53,976	13,595	15,655	12,592	12,134	13,487	13,847
	Outflows	29,624	26,127	6,721	7,022	6,071	6,313	6,637	6,853
Other investment income	Inflows	27,828	25,155	6,475	6,247	6,030	6,404	6,332	6,445
	Outflows	17,176	18,916	4,855	4,488	4,660	4,913	4,843	5,088

Secondary Income	Inflows	962	1,455	381	352	342	379	312	401
	Outflows	720	1,193	321	292	276	305	242	327

Income balance	Net	-62,454	-99,041	-23,441	-21,817	-21,686	-32,097	-20,666	-18,345

Current Account - Total	Inflows	243,826	266,329	81,932	64,729	60,033	59,634	51,632	73,968
	Outflows	400,723	472,120	119,554	109,711	112,559	130,296	115,787	121,684

Current Account Balance with US	Net	-156,897	-205,791	-37,622	-44,982	-52,526	-70,662	-64,155	-47,716
¹Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q2 2026 Table 3.4 (XLS 14KB)

Net IIP vis-à-vis the US stands at €1.6 trillion in Q2 2026

X-axis label	Direct Investment	Portfolio Investment	Other Investment	Reserve Assets	Net IIP
Q22024	10	796	125	3	933
Q32024	42	845	123	3	1013
Q42024	45	961	110	3	1119
Q12025	13	996	142	3	1155
Q22025	40	1016	112	3	1172
Q32025	12	1212	112	3	1338
Q42025	4	1213	117	3	1337
Q12026	-83	1283	135	3	1337
Q22026	-66	1685	-3	3	1619

Net IIP vis-à-vis the US (See Table 3.5)

At the end of Q2 2026, Ireland's net international investment position vis-à-vis the United States stood at €1,619 bn, up from €1,337bn in Q1 2026. The quarter-on-quarter increase in NIIP vis-à-vis the US was mainly driven by a larger increase in the stock of financial assets, than the increase in financial liabilities. Market price changes were the main driver of the movement in the stock of financial assets.

Table 3.5 IIP vis-à-vis the US – Quarterly

Next chapter: Foreign Direct Investment

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Table 3.2 Foreign Direct Investment with UK¹
		2024	2025	2025				2026
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2

Direct Investment	Abroad	7,816	20,889	4,495	1,726	5,368	9,301	5,997	-664
	In Ireland	-276	3,200	-2,037	1,368	-255	4,125	-3,476	-2,439

Equity	Abroad	7,931	18,456	4,272	618	5,773	7,793	3,137	40
	In Ireland	-126	-1,915	-692	358	-808	-773	-328	669
Reinvested Earnings	Abroad	1,239	4,212	823	-2	1,003	2,388	2,885	-2,297
	In Ireland	3,444	3,954	989	252	1,310	1,403	585	-476
Other Capital	Abroad	-1,353	-1,778	-599	1,110	-1,409	-880	-25	1,593
	In Ireland	-3,594	1,161	-2,334	758	-758	3,494	-3,733	-2,631
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'.

Table 3.5 International Investment Position (IIP) vis-à-vis the United States classified by Functional Category - Quarterly									€ million
Item	Q22024	Q32024	Q42024	Q12025	Q22025	Q32025	Q42025	Q12026	Q22026
Foreign Assets
Direct Investment Abroad¹	394,118	390,933	444,134	377,141	383,535	366,797	372,542	324,092	303,148
Portfolio Investment	1,905,340	1,990,298	2,238,985	2,202,765	2,204,785	2,396,207	2,432,134	2,476,718	2,818,604
Other Investment²	597,209	596,075	638,661	726,868	685,287	674,783	762,311	826,202	807,032
Reserve Assets	2,932	2,630	3,010	2,905	2,745	2,602	2,836	2,733	2,883
Total Foreign Assets	2,899,599	2,979,936	3,324,790	3,309,679	3,276,351	3,440,388	3,569,823	3,629,745	3,931,666

Foreign Liabilities
Direct Investment in Ireland¹	384,333	349,156	399,193	364,090	343,067	354,821	368,581	407,387	369,299
Portfolio Investment	1,109,687	1,145,099	1,278,052	1,206,358	1,188,341	1,184,346	1,218,873	1,194,001	1,133,615
Other Investment²	472,198	472,824	528,518	584,716	573,002	562,896	645,183	691,449	809,940
Total Foreign Liabilities	1,966,218	1,967,079	2,205,764	2,155,165	2,104,409	2,102,063	2,232,636	2,292,837	2,312,854

Net International Investment Position (IIP)
Direct Investment¹	9,784	41,777	44,940	13,050	40,468	11,975	3,961	-83,295	-66,152
Portfolio Investment	795,653	845,200	960,932	996,407	1,016,444	1,211,861	1,213,261	1,282,717	1,684,989
Other Investment²	125,011	123,251	110,143	142,152	112,285	111,887	117,129	134,753	-2,908
Reserve Assets	2,932	2,630	3,010	2,905	2,745	2,602	2,836	2,733	2,883

Total (Net IIP)	933,381	1,012,857	1,119,026	1,154,514	1,171,941	1,338,325	1,337,187	1,336,909	1,618,812
¹Reflecting the directional principle for reclassifying Direct Investment (see Background Notes).
²Includes financial derivatives and trade credits; in the case of liabilities this category also includes life insurance liabilities to non-residents.