when a country s current account is at a deficit or surplus its balance of payments bop is said to be in disequilibrium a country s balance of payments is a record of all transactions conducted with other countries during a given time period its imports and exports of goods are recorded under the current account section of the bop a significant deficit on the current account where imports are greater than exports would result in disequilibrium 
the us uk and canada have large current account deficits likewise when exports are greater than imports creating a current account surplus there is a disequilibrium china germany and japan have large current account surpluses a balance of payments disequilibrium can occur when there is an imbalance between domestic savings and domestic investments a deficit in the current account balance will result if domestic investments is higher than domestic savings since the excess investments will be financed with capital from foreign sources in addition when the trade agreement between two countries affects the level of import or export activities a balance of payments disequilibrium will surface furthermore changes in an exchange rate when a country s currency is revalued or devalued can cause disequilibrium other factors that could lead to disequilibrium include inflation or deflation changes in the foreign exchange reserves population growth and political instability 