United Kingdom Balance of Trade

Last Release

Aug 31, 2025

Actual

-3,386

Units In

GBP Million

-5,260

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Nov 13, 2025

Time to Release

26 Days 9 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
8,131 Dec 2019	-16,159 Jan 2022	-1,554.94 GBP Million	1955-2025	Office for National Statistics

The UK's trade balance has been in deficit since 1998, due to deficits in trade in goods which are partly offset by surpluses in trade in services. The level of total UK trade in goods as a proportion of total trade in goods and services has been gradually declining since 1986 after peaking at 75 percent in 1985. This is consistent with the rising share of UK trade in services (35 percent of total trade in 2017). In 2017, the biggest goods deficits were recorded with Germany, China, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium & Luxembourg and Italy; and the largest surpluses were recorded with the United States, Ireland and South Korea.

Latest Updates

The UK trade deficit widened to £3.39 billion in August 2025, up from a downwardly revised £3.02 billion in July, marking the largest gap since March. Exports fell by 1.2% mom to £77.42 billion, while imports dropped by 0.7% to £80.81 billion. Goods exports declined by 3.6%, weighed down by a 5.3% drop in shipments to the EU, primarily due to a fall in aircraft and mechanical power generators exports to Germany. Exports to non-EU countries shrank by 1.5%, largely driven by lower exports of material manufactures, chemicals, and fuels. Exports of goods to the US, including precious metals, fell by £0.7 billion in August, due to declines in machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, and material manufactures. In contrast, services exports grew by 0.5% to £46.18 billion. On the import side, goods imports fell by 1.2% to £52.42 billion, due mainly to lower imports of telecoms and sound equipment (capital) from China. Meanwhile, services imports rose by 0.2% to £28.39 billion.