Figure 1

The surplus in the US financial account practically offsets the deficit in the US current account

US current and financial account balances, US dollars (B = billions, T = trillions)

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Source: IMF.
Note: The financial account is depicted as being a surplus even though the IMF reports a net negative balance. This is because the IMF calculates the financial account balance in terms of assets (i.e., outgoing investment) and liabilities (i.e., incoming investment). Thus, a net negative balance on the IMF’s records means more investment came into the United States than went out on net. These data exclude the capital account, net errors, and omissions, which are the other components of the balance of payments.