The UK's trade deficit widened to £3.129 billion in January 2024, up from a three-month low of £2.603 billion recorded in the prior month, propelled by a 1.4% surge in imports coupled with a 0.7% rise in exports. Imports from the EU grew by 0.7%, primarily fueled by heightened purchases of fuel, including refined oil from Sweden and crude oil from Norway, as well as food and live animals. Furthermore, imports from non-EU nations surged by 3.8%, driven by notable increases in miscellaneous manufactures, particularly clothing imports from Bangladesh and China, as well as fuels, notably gas and both refined and crude oil from the US, alongside material manufactures. Conversely, while goods exports to the EU experienced a modest uptick of 0.8%, attributed to increased sales of fuel, notably crude oil to Poland and refined oil to Belgium, as well as chemicals, exports to non-EU countries saw a decline of 1.7% due to reduced sales of fuels and chemicals. source: Office for National Statistics

The United Kingdom recorded a trade deficit of 3129 GBP Million in January of 2024. Balance of Trade in the United Kingdom averaged -1267.11 GBP Million from 1955 until 2024, reaching an all time high of 9557.00 GBP Million in May of 2020 and a record low of -12744.00 GBP Million in January of 2022. This page provides - United Kingdom Balance of Trade - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. United Kingdom Balance of Trade - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on March of 2024.

The United Kingdom recorded a trade deficit of 3129 GBP Million in January of 2024. Balance of Trade in the United Kingdom is expected to be -2100.00 GBP Million by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2024-02-15 07:00 AM
Balance of Trade
Dec £-2.603B £-3.723B £ -1.9B
2024-03-13 07:00 AM
Balance of Trade
Jan £-3.129B £-2.603B £-2.3B
2024-04-12 06:00 AM
Balance of Trade
Feb £-3.129B £-3.7B


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Balance of Trade -3129.00 -2603.00 GBP Million Jan 2024
Capital Flows 7277.00 25858.00 GBP Million Dec 2023
Current Account -21177.00 -18524.00 GBP Million Dec 2023
Current Account to GDP -5.60 -1.50 percent of GDP Dec 2022
Exports 69257.00 68756.00 GBP Million Jan 2024
External Debt 7394049.00 7235456.00 GBP Million Sep 2023
Foreign Direct Investment -1020.00 -3935.00 GBP Million Dec 2023
Goods Trade Balance -14515.00 -13989.00 GBP Million Jan 2024
Imports 72386.00 71359.00 GBP Million Jan 2024
Tourism Revenues 2831.00 3609.00 GBP Million Sep 2023
Tourist Arrivals 3089.00 3790.00 Thousand Sep 2023

United Kingdom Balance of Trade
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 (about 38 percent as of 2021). The UK has trade deficits with China, Norway, Germany, Spain, Poland, Russia, Italy and India; and surpluses with the United States, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
-3129.00 -2603.00 9557.00 -12744.00 1955 - 2024 GBP Million Monthly
Current Prices, SA

News Stream
UK Trade Gap Widens in January as Imports Outpace Exports
The UK's trade deficit widened to £3.129 billion in January 2024, up from a three-month low of £2.603 billion recorded in the prior month, propelled by a 1.4% surge in imports coupled with a 0.7% rise in exports. Imports from the EU grew by 0.7%, primarily fueled by heightened purchases of fuel, including refined oil from Sweden and crude oil from Norway, as well as food and live animals. Furthermore, imports from non-EU nations surged by 3.8%, driven by notable increases in miscellaneous manufactures, particularly clothing imports from Bangladesh and China, as well as fuels, notably gas and both refined and crude oil from the US, alongside material manufactures. Conversely, while goods exports to the EU experienced a modest uptick of 0.8%, attributed to increased sales of fuel, notably crude oil to Poland and refined oil to Belgium, as well as chemicals, exports to non-EU countries saw a decline of 1.7% due to reduced sales of fuels and chemicals.
2024-03-13
UK Trade Deficit Narrows in December
The UK's trade deficit narrowed to £2.603 billion in December 2023 from a revised £3.723 billion in the previous month as imports fell by 3.4%, and exports declined by 2.0%. Goods imports from the EU decreased by 3.9%, mainly because of falling imports of fuels, particularly shipments of refined oil from the Netherlands. Imports from non-EU countries slumped by 7.4% also due to lower fuel imports, driven by lower purchases of crude oil from Norway, and a decline in imports of machinery and transport equipment, due to lower imports of electrical machinery from China. Meanwhile, exports to the EU dropped by 4.5% thanks to a slump in fuel exports, driven by a decrease in exports of crude oil to Poland. Exports to non-EU countries remained unchanged. For the full year of 2023, the trade gap narrowed to £36.6 billion from £66.8 billion in 2022 as imports were down 1% and exports rose 2.6%.
2024-02-15
UK Trade Deficit Narrows in November as Imports Decline
The UK's trade deficit narrowed sharply to £1.408 billion in November 2023 from a revised £3.198 billion in the previous month as imports fell by 2.3%, and exports edged up by 0.1%. Goods imports from the EU declined by 1.7%, primarily due to a drop in imports of machinery and transport equipment, thanks to reduced purchases of aircraft from Germany. Imports from non-EU countries tumbled by 5.4%, with shipments of machinery and transport equipment decreasing because of reduced imports of electrical machinery and cars from China. There were also decreases in imports of chemicals. Meanwhile, exports to the EU rose by 1.2%, driven by an increase in exports of machinery and transport equipment, particularly exports of cars to Italy. Exports to non-EU countries decreased by 5% due to a decline in fuel exports and a decrease in exports of material manufactures.
2024-01-12