Ireland’s Balance of Payments showed a current account surplus of €19.7 billion in Quarter 2 (Q2) 2026 (See Table 1.3).
Merchandise exports were €105.6 billion in Q2 2026, a decrease of €16.6 billion compared with Q2 2025. Merchandise imports were €47.5 billion in Q2 2026, up €7.1 billion compared with the same period in 2025.
In Q2 2026, Service exports at €136.9 billion, were up by €9.7 billion compared with Q2 2025. Service imports at €133.1 billion grew by €18.4 billion over the same period in 2025.
The trade balance at €61.8 billion, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, increased by €693 billion in Q2 2026 over the same period in 2025.
The overall income balance for Q2 2026 was -€42.1 billion, up €5.0 billion compared with the same period in 2025.
Direct investment into Ireland rose by €19.2 billion in Q2 2026 while direct investment abroad increased by €17.5 billion in the quarter (See Table 1.4).
The stock of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) assets held in Ireland by foreign investors declined by €64.9 billion in Q2 2026 to €1,039.7 billion. FDI assets held abroad by Irish investors were down by €40.3 billion in the quarter to €1,190.6 billion (See Table 5.2).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (04 September 2026) published the International Accounts results for Quarter 2 (Q2) 2026.
Commenting on the release, Gillian Roche, Assistant Director General with responsibility for International and Government Accounts Statistics said:
“In the International Accounts, the Current Account of the Balance of Payments recorded a surplus of €19.7 billion in flows with the rest of the world in Q2 2026, an increase of €5.7 billion compared with the surplus of €14.0 billion recorded in Q2 2025. The Merchandise balance increased by €9.5 billion in Q2 2026 compared with the same quarter in 2025 while the Services balance decreased by €8.8 billion. Net outflows of multinational profits were €46.0 billion in the quarter, an increase of €0.7 billion on the net outflows recorded in Q2 2025.
Today’s International Accounts release includes a table of Current Account transactions with the US. The results show a deficit of €29.4 billion for Trade in Goods & Services with the US in Q2 2026, up €6.2 billion on the Q2 2025 trade balance. This trade deficit in Q2 2026, when combined with a deficit of €18.3 billion for net income flows, gives an overall Current Account deficit with the US of €47.7 billion in the quarter.”
More commentary is available in the Press Statement also issued today. See also Quarterly National Accounts results for Q2 2026 also published today.