United Kingdom Balance of Trade

Last Release

Jan 31, 2024

Actual

-3,129

Units In

GBP Million

-2,603

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Apr 12, 2024

Time to Release

28 Days 21 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
8,131 Dec 2019	-16,159 Jan 2022	-1,463.54 GBP Million	1955-2024	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's trade deficit widened to £3.129 billion in January 2024, up from a three-month low of £2.603 billion recorded in the prior month, propelled by a 1.4% surge in imports coupled with a 0.7% rise in exports. Imports from the EU grew by 0.7%, primarily fueled by heightened purchases of fuel, including refined oil from Sweden and crude oil from Norway, as well as food and live animals. Furthermore, imports from non-EU nations surged by 3.8%, driven by notable increases in miscellaneous manufactures, particularly clothing imports from Bangladesh and China, as well as fuels, notably gas and both refined and crude oil from the US, alongside material manufactures. Conversely, while goods exports to the EU experienced a modest uptick of 0.8%, attributed to increased sales of fuel, notably crude oil to Poland and refined oil to Belgium, as well as chemicals, exports to non-EU countries saw a decline of 1.7% due to reduced sales of fuels and chemicals.