United Kingdom Balance of Trade

Last Release

Dec 31, 2024

Actual

-2,816

Units In

GBP Million

-4,757

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Mar 14, 2025

Time to Release

27 Days 9 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
8,131 Dec 2019	-16,159 Jan 2022	-1,514.06 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 narrowed to £2.82 billion in December 2024, down from a downwardly revised £4.35 billion in November, marking the smallest trade gap since September. Imports fell by 1.5% month-on-month to a three-month low of £71.88 billion, while exports grew by 0.7% to a four-month high of £69.06 billion. Goods imports dropped by 3.0%, with imports from non-EU countries declining by 1.8%, primarily due to a £0.4 billion decrease in material imports, driven by reduced imports from China and Switzerland. Additionally, imports from the EU shrank by 3.3%, due mainly to a decline in machinery and transport equipment imports, including cars from Germany. By contrast, services imports rose 1.5%. Goods exports were unchanged at £28.80 billion, with exports to non-EU countries rising by 3.5% while those to EU countries shrank by 3.6%, largely due to a £0.4 billion decline in machinery and transport equipment to Germany and France. Additionally, services exports climbed by 1.2%.