From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbalance of paymentsˌbalance of ˈpayments noun [singular] PEthe difference between what a country spends in order to buy goods and services abroad, and the money it earns selling goods and services abroad
Examples from the Corpus
balance of payments• In the depths of recession, we are in a balance of payments deficit.• High military expenditure will fuel inflation, reduce international competitiveness, and balance of payments crises will occur as public debt increases.• When the accountants finish their calculations, all countries have an overall balance of payments equal to zero.• A record balance of payments deficit is not the right background for enforced increases in industrial costs.• We will examine this mechanism in detail in Chapter 22, when we focus on the balance of payments and exchange rates.• Inflation was brought down to below 5 percent, the balance of payments remained healthy and productivity improved rapidly.• What is more, 20 million tonnes of imported coal means another £1,000 million added to the balance of payments deficit.• It should be emphasized that private markets have remained the main source of financing for countries with balance of payments problems.From Longman Business Dictionarybalance of paymentsˌbalance of ˈpayments noun [singular] ECONOMICS the difference between the amount of money coming into a country, for example in payment for its exports, and the amount of money going out, for example to pay for its importsExports are expected to increase in the current quarter, which would improve Britain’s balance of payments. 