balance of payments

American  

noun

1. the difference between a nation's total payments to foreign countries, including movements of capital and gold, investments, tourist spending, etc., and its total receipts from foreign countries.

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balance of payments British  

noun

1. the difference over a given time between total payments to foreign nations, arising from imports of goods and services and transfers abroad of capital, interest, grants, etc, and total receipts from foreign nations, arising from exports of goods and services and transfers from abroad of capital, interest, grants, etc

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balance of payments Cultural  

1. The relationship between the payments made by one nation to all other nations and its receipts from all other nations.

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A nation whose payments exceed its receipts is said to be running an unfavorable balance of payments, which can affect the value of its currency in foreign countries. (See foreign exchange.)

Etymology

Origin of balance of payments

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

Germany’s GfK consumer climate survey for December is due for release on Friday, alongside Italy’s consumer and business confidence surveys for December and eurozone balance of payments data for October.

From The Wall Street Journal

Any action from the Reserve Bank of India will be measured, and in line with developments in the country’s balance of payments, analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal

“We think the balance of payments will turn its strongest in 15 years with foreign portfolio inflows,” economist Bum Ki Son writes in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal

For Elliott, “Argentina needs a much lower exchange rate, much higher interest rates and a significant economic contraction” to stabilize the balance of payments.

From MarketWatch

If anything, Newsom may even have downplayed the size of California’s negative balance of payments with the federal government.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• balance of trade
• bop
• trade balance
• trade deficit