| Table 1.1 Balance of International Payments | € million | |||
| Merchandise Balance | Services and Income Balance | Current Account Balance | Current Account Balance as % of GDP | |
| Q4 2018 | 27,262 | -27,084 | 178 | 0.2 |
| Q4 2017 | 30,147 | -20,736 | 9,411 | 11.9 |
| Q1-Q4 2018 | 109,695 | -80,700 | 28,996 | 9.1 |
| Q1-Q4 2017 | 107,639 | -82,713 | 24,924 | 8.5 |
The Balance of Payments current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, showed a small surplus in the fourth quarter of 2018, at €178m, mainly due to higher imports of intellectual property. The current account balance for the year 2018, at €29bn, is up €4bn on the balance in year 2017 of €25bn (see Table 1.2).
| X-axis label | Current Account |
|---|---|
| Q1 2016 | 1.06318090912632 |
| Q2 2016 | -7.1128111697673 |
| Q3 2016 | -1.79400283538553 |
| Q4 2016 | -8.43679431962108 |
| Q1 2017 | 7.41879100789745 |
| Q2 2017 | -4.79270637603034 |
| Q3 2017 | 17.6914147089169 |
| Q4 2017 | 11.873009170544 |
| Q1 2018 | 12.3415854034528 |
| Q2 2018 | 13.3594368322988 |
| Q3 2018 | 11.1814347323132 |
| Q4 2018 | 0.214055260758007 |
| X-axis label | Merchandise | Services | Primary Income | Secondary Income | Balance on Current account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2016 | 27.29 | -14.564 | -11.001 | -1.02 | 0.705 |
| Q2 2016 | 24.44 | -16.885 | -11.342 | -0.768 | -4.555 |
| Q3 2016 | 26.315 | -12.294 | -14.425 | -0.82 | -1.224 |
| Q4 2016 | 28.043 | -19.992 | -13.144 | -1.205 | -6.299 |
| Q1 2017 | 25.032 | -5.356 | -13.684 | -0.936 | 5.056 |
| Q2 2017 | 23.545 | -9.642 | -15.647 | -1.558 | -3.303 |
| Q3 2017 | 28.915 | 0.681 | -14.829 | -1.006 | 13.76 |
| Q4 2017 | 30.147 | -4.034 | -15.613 | -1.089 | 9.411 |
| Q1 2018 | 27.078 | -1.25 | -14.971 | -1.306 | 9.552 |
| Q2 2018 | 28.977 | -1.97 | -15.429 | -1.416 | 10.162 |
| Q3 2018 | 26.378 | 0.61 | -16.696 | -1.188 | 9.104 |
| Q4 2018 | 27.262 | -7.632 | -18.279 | -1.173 | 0.178 |
Other points of note in the Quarter 4 2018 results are:
Merchandise exports were €56,066m in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase of €3,395m compared with the fourth quarter of 2017. Merchandise imports were €28,804m in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase of €6,281m compared with the same period in 2017.
Service exports at €49,484m increased by €5,756m compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, mainly due to higher computer services exports.
Service imports at €57,116m were up €9,354m over the same period in 2017. These figures were largely affected by increased payments for R&D services, mainly intellectual property.
Ireland’s Trade Balance at €19,630m, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, decreased by €6,484m in the fourth quarter of 2018, over the same period in 2017.
Investment income earned abroad at €17,816m, decreased by €2,103m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to foreign investors at €36,441m increased by €607m. The overall Income balance for the quarter at -€19,452m was €2,750m lower than the same period in 2017.
| X-axis label | Direct Investment | Portfolio Investment | Other Investment | Reserve Assets | Balance on Financial Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2016 | 12.279 | -7.497 | 1.42 | 1.095 | 7.297 |
| Q2 2016 | -0.293 | 2.933 | -14.069 | -0.224 | -11.653 |
| Q3 2016 | -10.522 | 10.385 | -7.662 | 0.379 | -7.42 |
| Q4 2016 | -9.894 | 21.89 | -8.762 | 0.206 | 3.441 |
| Q1 2017 | -4.669 | -13.224 | -1.406 | -0.101 | -19.4 |
| Q2 2017 | 4.186 | -45.62 | 37.482 | 0.163 | -3.789 |
| Q3 2017 | 4.069 | 0.598 | 6.773 | 0.235 | 11.675 |
| Q4 2017 | -37.167 | 2.931 | 50.327 | 0.102 | 16.192 |
| Q1 2018 | 26.339 | 7.45 | -20.09 | -0.022 | 13.677 |
| Q2 2018 | 10.209 | -29.445 | 33.781 | 0.005 | 14.55 |
| Q3 2018 | 10.96 | -2.86 | 1.002 | 0.209 | 9.311 |
| Q4 2018 | 19.943 | 13.921 | -46.182 | 0.578 | -11.74 |
Direct investment in Ireland increased by €19,711m in the fourth quarter of 2018. This change was driven by increases in equity of €8,997m and other capital of €12,516m. Direct investment abroad increased by €39,653m in the quarter, mainly due to increased equity investment of €62,081m.
Portfolio investment in foreign assets increased by €13,183m in the quarter. Investment in foreign equity decreased by €4,195m while investment in foreign debt instruments increased by €17,378m. Portfolio investment in Ireland decreased by €738m, where a fall in Irish debt instruments of €2,349m were partially offset by increased Irish equity of €1,611m.
Other investment assets decreased by €31,119m while Other investment liabilities increased by €15,062m in the fourth quarter of 2018, both mainly due to the activity of IFSC enterprises.
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