The scorecard for whether a country sells more to the world than it buys, or the reverse.
A country's balance of trade is the difference between what it exports and what it imports; its current account is the broader version of that, also including income from investments abroad and money sent between countries. A trade deficit, importing more than exporting, isn't automatically a bad sign, it can reflect a strong economy that can afford to buy a lot from abroad, but a persistently large one means a country is relying heavily on foreign money flowing back in to balance the books, which can become a vulnerability if that flow ever reverses.
Part of the Open Bell Glossary — plain-English explanations of the terms that come up on the show. Browse every term.