UK trade balance (goods and services)

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), series FSID. Monthly, about six weeks after the month ends, 7am; next release 15 October 2026

UK trade balance (goods and services): every value, by year, with a CSV download →

What it measures

The trade balance is the value of the UK's exports of goods and services minus the value of its imports, in pounds at current prices and seasonally adjusted. A negative figure is a deficit: the UK bought more from abroad than it sold. The series on this page excludes precious metals, mainly non-monetary gold, because trading by the London gold market moves in and out of the figures in large amounts without reflecting underlying trade; the ONS headlines this measure. The UK typically runs a large deficit in goods and a large surplus in services.

How to read it

Monthly figures swing by billions of pounds, so the ONS headlines the three-month total compared with the previous three months; add the latest three months in the chart to match it. Values are in cash terms, so higher prices for imported energy can widen the deficit without any change in the amount bought. A deficit is not a debt owed by the Government: it is the sum of many private transactions. Trade with individual countries and products is in the ONS country-by-commodity data and in HMRC's trade in goods statistics, which use a different basis; see the UK trade statistics guide.

Background

The ONS monthly series starts in January 1997. The largest monthly surplus in the series, £5.4 billion, was in May 2020, when imports collapsed during the first lockdown; the largest deficit, £8.1 billion, was in January 2022. Calculated from the series, the UK recorded deficits of about £50 billion in calendar year 2022 and about £18 billion in 2025, excluding precious metals. Each month the ONS also splits goods trade between EU and non-EU countries, which is the starting point for checking claims about trade since the UK left the EU.

Other parts of the UK

HMRC regional trade in goods statistics (English regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)

Does the UK have a trade deficit?

Yes, in most months. When this page was checked on 13 October 2026, the ONS estimated a total trade deficit, excluding precious metals, of £3.9 billion in July 2026 and £9.0 billion in the three months to July 2026, published on 11 September 2026. The goods deficit was £61.6 billion and the services surplus £52.6 billion over those three months.

Why are precious metals excluded?

Large flows of non-monetary gold pass through London's bullion market and can add or remove billions of pounds from a single month's figures. The ONS says these movements are volatile and distort underlying trends, so it headlines trade excluding precious metals and publishes the precious metals balance separately.

Who is the UK's biggest trading partner?

The ONS publishes trade by country each month and annually. In recent ONS annual figures the EU as a bloc is the UK's largest trading partner and the United States is the largest single country. Check the latest ONS trade bulletin or the country-by-commodity dataset for current figures before quoting a ranking.

What is the difference between the trade balance and the current account?

The trade balance covers only goods and services. The current account adds income flows, such as investment income and wages paid across borders, and transfers such as payments to international organisations. See the current account balance page for that wider measure.

Are ONS and HMRC trade figures the same?

No. HMRC publishes trade in goods on a customs basis, recording goods as they cross the border. The ONS adjusts these to a balance of payments basis, which records changes of ownership, and adds services, which HMRC does not cover.

Related questions

• What is the UK trade deficit?
• Who is the UK's biggest trading partner?
• How do I look up UK trade data by country or product?
• How has Brexit affected UK trade?
• How much does the UK export to the EU?

More on this source: UK trade statistics (ONS, HMRC uktradeinfo and Department for Business and Trade)