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balance of payments
noun phrase
: a summary of the international transactions of a country or region over a period of time including commodity and service transactions, capital transactions, and gold movements
Examples of balance of payments in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Depressed foreign exchange revenue and an inability to tap reserves combined to create an acute balance of payments crisis.
—Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, Foreign Affairs, 17 Jan. 2022
But this change was made explicitly to encourage foreign investment in the U.S.
The context was this was in response to the then balance of payments crisis.
—Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024
China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped almost $15 billion in the April-June period, marking only the second time this figure has turned negative, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange released Friday.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune Asia, 12 Aug. 2024
China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments stood at $33 billion last year, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange released Sunday.
—Bloomberg, Fortune, 19 Feb. 2024
Direct investment liabilities, a measure of FDI reflected in a country’s balance of payments, fell to just $4.9 billion in the April to June months, according to data published in August by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
—Emiko Jozuka, CNN, 20 Oct. 2023
Before Alibaba opened its site in 2021, former Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès said the hub would increase the country’s exports to China, helping to improve the country’s balance of payments, The Brussels Times reported.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2023
Direct investment liabilities, a measure of FDI reflected in a country’s balance of payments, fell to just $4.9 billion in the April to June months, down 87% from a year earlier, according to data published by SAFE last month.
—Laura He, CNN, 19 Sep. 2023
The agreement provided for both a reserve currency, the U.S. dollar, to which other currencies within the system were pegged, and an international mechanism to extend loans to countries running deficits in their balances of payments.
—Suzanne Berger, Foreign Affairs, 14 Aug. 2018
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Word History
First Known Use
1770, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of balance of payments was
in 1770
Dictionary Entries Near balance of payments
Cite this Entry
“Balance of payments.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/balance%20of%20payments. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
More from Merriam-Webster on balance of payments
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about balance of payments
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