5331.0 - Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia, Concepts, Sources and Methods, 1998  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 22/09/1998   
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Contents >> Chapter 4. Publication >> Balance Of Payments Summary Statement

4.14. In presenting balance of payments statistics, ABS publications start with a summary table followed by more detailed tables. Table 4.2 shows the summary table from the quarterly publication (Cat. no. 5302.0). The table illustrates the following points:

      • the classifications shown reflect the higher level standard components;
      • current and capital account items are shown gross, whereas financial account items are shown net;
      • gross and net credit entries are shown without sign, while gross and net debit entries are shown with a negative sign;
      • various key balances are recorded, such as the current account balance and the capital and financial account balance, as well as various lower level balances such as the goods and services balance;
      • the sum of the current account balance, the capital and financial account balance, and the net errors and omissions item add to zero; and
      • data are presented in the form of time series (three years and six quarters).

The concept of a ‘balance’

4.15. In a complete balance of payments statement (including the net errors and omission item), the sum of all credit entries and the sum of all debit entries are necessarily equal, i.e. the sum of credits and debits is zero. The sum of all credit and debit entries may also be referred to as a balance. For any intermediate balance drawn from a selection of items it is possible for credit entries to exceed debit entries, and vice versa. It is common to speak of a balance as a surplus if it is a credit and as a deficit if it is a debit.

4.16. The main balances used in the Australian balance of payments are the balance on current account and the balance on capital and financial account. These balances, and their composition in terms of subsidiary balances and other items, are shown in table 4.3.


4.2
AUSTRALIA'S BALANCE OF PAYMENTS - SUMMARY
Dec Qtr
Mar Qtr
Jun Qtr
Sep Qtr
Dec Qtr
Mar Qtr
1994-95
1995-96
1996-97
1996
1997
1997
1997
1997
1998
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m

CURRENT
ACCOUNT
- 28,867
- 21,824
- 17,531
- 4,918
- 3,163
- 2,985
- 5,841
- 5,599
- 6,291
Goods & services
- 9,916
- 1,891
1,777
- 299
1,444
2,120
- 950
- 247
- 1,396
Credits
87,509
99,004
105,318
25,906
26,042
28,643
28,487
29,273
27,321
Debits
- 97,425
- 100,895
- 103,541
- 26,205
- 24,598
- 26,523
- 29,437
- 29,520
- 28,717
Goods
- 8,216
- 1,583
1,496
- 367
246
2,618
- 511
- 32
- 2,112
Credits
67,101
76,146
80,934
19,836
19,111
22,964
22,162
23,151
20,414
Debits
- 75,317
- 77,729
- 79,438
- 20,203
- 18,865
- 20,346
- 22,673
- 23,183
- 22,526
Services
- 1,700
- 308
281
68
1,198
- 498
- 439
- 215
716
Credits
20,408
22,858
24,384
6,070
6,931
5,679
6,325
6,122
6,907
Debits
- 22,108
- 23,166
- 24,103
- 6,002
- 5,733
- 6,177
- 6,764
- 6,337
- 6,191
Income
- 18,423
- 19,907
- 19,434
- 4,704
- 4,593
- 5,070
- 4,874
- 5,402
- 4,876
Credits
6,954
7,162
8,319
2,233
2,071
2,099
2,250
2,331
2,545
Debits
- 25,377
- 27,069
- 27,753
- 6,937
- 6,664
- 7,169
- 7,124
- 7,733
- 7,421
Current transfers
- 528
- 26
126
85
- 14
- 35
- 17
50
- 19
Credits
3,026
3,212
3,377
835
823
855
886
879
895
Debits
- 3,554
- 3,238
- 3,251
- 750
- 837
- 890
- 903
- 829
- 914
CAPITAL AND
FINANCIAL ACCOUNT
28,610
21,914
18,769
5,145
3,825
3,190
5,219
6,424
5,774
Capital account
572
1,074
1,318
324
385
218
338
275
283
Capital transfers
540
1,049
1,323
325
377
219
340
268
277
Credits
1,383
1,956
2,200
544
597
485
541
513
523
Debits
- 843
- 907
- 877
- 219
- 220
- 266
- 201
- 245
- 246
Net acquisition/ disposal of non- produced, non- financial assets

32

25

- 5

- 1

8

- 1

- 2

7

6
Financial account
28,038
20,840
17,451
4,821
3,440
2,972
4,881
6,149
5,491
Direct investment
4,080
5,067
5,375
1,352
- 115
2,297
2,017
895
- 480
Abroad
- 3,429
- 7,935
- 5,908
- 2,008
- 1,189
- 1,502
- 4,294
- 895
- 1,835
In Australia
7,509
13,002
11,283
3,360
1,074
3,799
6,311
1,790
1,355
Portfolio investment
18,378
25,661
13,378
5,856
6,665
- 4,584
7,578
7,024
4,679
Other investment
3,609
- 9,071
3,922
- 2,106
- 2,519
6,645
- 3,252
- 441
- 1,914
Reserve assets
1,971
- 817
- 5,224
- 281
- 591
- 1,386
- 1,462
- 1,329
3,206

NET ERRORS
AND OMISSIONS
257
- 90
- 1,238
- 227
- 662
- 205
622
- 825
517

Source: Table 1 from Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia, March quarter 1998 (Cat. no. 5302.0).
Net errors and omissions item

4.17. The net errors and omissions item is a balancing item, reflecting the underlying double entry accounting system. It is the sum, with sign reversed, of the balance on current account and the balance on capital and financial account. In other words, the sum of the current account balance, the capital and financial account balance and the net errors and omissions item is zero.


4.3
KEY BALANCES USED IN BALANCE OF PAYMENTS ANALYSIS
Current
account
balance
=
Goods and services balance
=
Goods balance
=
Goods credits
+
Goods debits
+
Services balance
=
Services credits
+
Services debits
+
Income balance
=
Income credits
+
Income debits
+
Current transfers balance
=
Current transfers credits
+
Current transfers debits

Capital and
financial
account
balance
=
Capital account balance
=
Capital transfers balance
=
Capital transfers credits
+
Capital transfers debits
+
Net acquisition/disposal of non- produced, non-financial assets
=
credits (disposal)
+
debits (acquisition)
+
Financial account balance
=
Direct investment balance
=
Direct investment abroad
+
Direct investment in Australia
+
Portfolio investment balance
=
Portfolio investment assets
+
Portfolio investment liabilities
+
Other investment balance
=
Other investment assets
+
Other investment liabilities
+
Reserve assets






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