United Kingdom Balance of Trade

Last Release

Sep 30, 2025

Actual

-1,094

Units In

GBP Million

-3,386

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Dec 12, 2025

Time to Release

25 Days 10 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
8,131 Dec 2019	-16,159 Jan 2022	-1,554.1 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 narrowed to £1.09 billion in September 2025, down from a downwardly revised £1.28 billion in August, marking the smallest gap since January. Exports fell 0.9% mom to a three-month low of £77.21 billion, while imports shrank 1.1% to an eight-month low of £78.30 billion. Goods exports dropped 1.2%, weighed down by a 2.7% fall in shipments to the EU, primarily due to lower fuel exports, including reduced shipments of crude oil to Poland, Denmark, and Germany. Exports to non-EU countries fell 8.0%, largely driven by lower shipments of machinery and transport equipment, including cars, to China and the US. Exports of goods to the US, including precious metals, fell 11.4% in September, the lowest level since January 2022, mostly due to declines in commodities. Services exports also fell 0.7% to a five-month low of £45.99 billion. On the import side, goods imports dropped 2.0% to an eight-month low of £50.10 billion, while services imports rose 0.4% to £28.20 billion.