Final answer:
The primary component of the current account is income payments, which includes money flow from foreign investments in the United States and payments to foreign investors.
Step-by-step explanation:
The primary component of the current account is income payments. This refers to money that U.S. financial investors received on their foreign investments (money flowing into the United States) and payments to foreign investors who had invested their funds here (money flowing out of the United States). Income payments are included in the overall measure of trade because, from an economic perspective, income is just as much an economic transaction as trade in goods and services.