This article, which continues an annual series, analyses the net external asset position of the United Kingdom as recorded at the end of 1988 and looks at indications for the first half of 1989. It examines the capital transactions and revaluations of assets and liabilities on the external balance sheet, and considers, in particular, the changes in the pattern of capital flows over the 1980s along with the associated flows of interest, profits and dividends. The United Kingdom's identified net asset position is compared with those of other major economies, and problems with the measurement of balance of payments flows are also discussed.
The external balance sheet of the United Kingdom recent developments