United Kingdom Balance of Trade

Last Release

Jan 31, 2025

Actual

-2,641

Units In

GBP Million

-2,816

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Apr 11, 2025

Time to Release

10 Days 21 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
8,131 Dec 2019	-16,159 Jan 2022	-1,516.12 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's trade deficit declined to £2.64 billion in January 2025, down from £2.82 billion in December 2024, marking the smallest trade gap since September. Imports rose by 3.2% month-on-month to a seven-month high of £74.21 billion, while exports grew by 3.6% to a five-month high of £71.57 billion. Goods imports increased by 5.1% to a seven-month high of £ 48.60 billion, with imports from non-EU countries rising 12% while those from the EU fell by 0.8%. Meanwhile, services imports were almost unchanged at £ 25.62 billion. Goods exports climbed 6.7% to a five-month high of £30.75 billion, with sales to the EU and non-EU advancing by 2.7% and 10.5%, respectively. Additionally, services exports increased by 1.4%.