United Kingdom Current Account

The UK’s current account deficit surged to £28.4 billion, equivalent to 4.0% of GDP, in Q2 2024, up from a downwardly revised £13.8 billion in Q1 and compared to forecasts of a £32.2 billion shortfall, pointing to the largest current account gap since Q1 2022. The trade in goods deficit widened by £7.4 billion to £53.0 billion in Q2, as the value of imports rose by £8.2 billion to £144.6 billion, while exports increased by £0.8 billion to £91.6 billion. The services surplus rose by £2.3 billion to £43.1 billion, with service exports increasing by £3.5 billion, notably in business and financial services, while service imports grew by £1.2 billion. The primary income account deficit expanded to £8.6 billion, or 1.2% of GDP, as UK payments increased by £0.9 billion to £107.5 billion, while UK earnings fell by £2.2 billion to £98.9 billion. Meanwhile, the secondary income gap narrowed to £3.9 billion (0.6% of GDP) in Q2 from £6.3 billion in Q1.