net flow of goods, services, and unilateral transactions (gifts) between countries. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary
————
The part of the balance of payments which is due to trade flows. It can be broken down into visibles, which are physical goods imported and exported from the United Kingdom, and invisibles, which are services imported to or exported from the UK, such as advertising, insurance and training. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein financial glossary
* * *
* * *
A country's current account balance is the sum of the visible trade balance (exports and imports that can be seen) and the invisible balance (credits and debits for services of one kind or another, such as tourism, banking and insurance). It excludes flows produced by long-term borrowings or investment, which are counted in the capital account.
► See also Balance of Payments, Capital Account.
* * *
current account UK US noun [C] (UK
► (UK also cheque account, US checking account) BANKING a bank account that you can take money from at any time and use for making payments , that usually earns little or no interest: »
She opened a current account with an online bank.
in/into sb's current account »He is considering what to do with around £5,000 he has in his current account.
out of/from sb's current account »I transfer my mortgage repayments monthly from my current account.
»a current account holder/customer
► ECONOMICS a measure of the money going into and out of a country in the form of exports and imports, income from interest and payments from foreign stocks, and other payments: »
Much of the improvement in the current account balance has come from a sharp decline in imports.
»This year has seen the country's first current account surplus in a decade.
Financial and business terms. 2012.