Trade glossary · institutions
IMF
International Monetary Fund — publishes balance-of-payments and trade-related statistics, particularly for services and current account analysis.
The IMF's Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS) covers bilateral merchandise flows, complementing UN Comtrade with monthly data for many reporters. The Balance of Payments and International Investment Position (BPM6) statistics are the IMF's primary contribution: BACI doesn't cover services, but the IMF does. IMF data is used by economists for current-account analysis and exchange-rate research.
Authoritative source: IMF Data ↗
Related terms
Balance of payments
A country's accounting record of all economic transactions with the rest of the world, split into current account and capital/financial account.
Current account
Balance of payments component covering goods, services, primary income (wages and investment income), and secondary income (transfers). Trade balance is one part of the current account.