The UK trade deficit narrowed to £5.86 billion in January 2023, down from £7.15 billion in the previous month, as imports tumbled 6.3% and exports fell at a softer 5.1%. Goods imports were down 8.7%, as purchases from the EU fell by 8.8% and those from non-EU countries declined by 8.7%. The decrease in imports from the EU was mainly the result of falling purchases of machinery and transport equipment, chemicals and fuels. Within non-EU trade, declines were seen in imports of gas from Norway and electrical machinery imports from China. Meanwhile, goods exports dropped 1.8%, as a fall in sales to the EU (-4.2%) was partially offset by an increase in exports to non-EU countries (0.9%). The decrease in exports to the EU was mainly led by a decline in sales of fuels, chemicals and material manufactures; while the rise in exports to non-EU countries was supported by rising chemical exports, in particular organic chemicals to the US and medicinal and pharmaceutical products to South Korea. source: Office for National Statistics

Balance of Trade in the United Kingdom averaged -1390.28 GBP Million from 1955 until 2023, reaching an all time high of 8733.00 GBP Million in May of 2020 and a record low of -13626.00 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 2023.

Balance of Trade in the United Kingdom is expected to be -4812.00 GBP Million by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations.

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United Kingdom Balance of Trade



Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2023-02-10 07:00 AM Dec £-7.150B £-2.306B £ -2.8B
2023-03-10 07:00 AM Jan £-5.861B £-7.150B £-6.1B
2023-04-13 06:00 AM Feb £-5.861B £-4.9B


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Balance of Trade -5861.00 -7150.00 GBP Million Jan 2023
Current Account -19402.00 -33768.00 GBP Million Sep 2022
Current Account to GDP -2.00 -3.20 percent of GDP Dec 2021
Exports 67015.00 70644.00 GBP Million Jan 2023
Imports 72876.00 77794.00 GBP Million Jan 2023
External Debt 7620272.00 7181067.00 GBP Million Sep 2022
Foreign Direct Investment 44637.00 21717.00 GBP Million Sep 2022
Capital Flows -3329.00 21306.00 GBP Million Sep 2022
Goods Trade Balance -17855.00 -19271.00 GBP Million Jan 2023
Tourist Arrivals 3180.00 3240.00 Thousand Dec 2022
Tourism Revenues 2110.00 2720.00 GBP Million Nov 2022
Terms of Trade 101.80 101.50 points Apr 2018

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
-5861.00 -7150.00 8733.00 -13626.00 1955 - 2023 GBP Million Monthly
Current Prices, SA

News Stream
UK Trade Gap Narrows as Imports Fall More than Exports
The UK trade deficit narrowed to £5.86 billion in January 2023, down from £7.15 billion in the previous month, as imports tumbled 6.3% and exports fell at a softer 5.1%. Goods imports were down 8.7%, as purchases from the EU fell by 8.8% and those from non-EU countries declined by 8.7%. The decrease in imports from the EU was mainly the result of falling purchases of machinery and transport equipment, chemicals and fuels. Within non-EU trade, declines were seen in imports of gas from Norway and electrical machinery imports from China. Meanwhile, goods exports dropped 1.8%, as a fall in sales to the EU (-4.2%) was partially offset by an increase in exports to non-EU countries (0.9%). The decrease in exports to the EU was mainly led by a decline in sales of fuels, chemicals and material manufactures; while the rise in exports to non-EU countries was supported by rising chemical exports, in particular organic chemicals to the US and medicinal and pharmaceutical products to South Korea.
2023-03-10
UK Posts Widest Trade Gap in 6 Months
The UK trade deficit jumped to £7.2 billion in December 2022 from an upwardly revised £2.3 billion in the prior month. This was the largest monthly trade shortfall since last June, as imports rose 2.2% from a month earlier to £77.8 billion on higher acquisitions of machinery & transport equipment (6.1%) and fuels (23.3%) from EU countries as well as fuels from non-EU countries (33%), mostly gas from Norway and the US. Meanwhile, total exports slumped 4.3% to a five-month low of £70.6 billion, mainly on lower shipments to non-EU countries of machinery & transport equipment (-6.2%), namely road vehicles to China; fuels (-23.6%) of which crude oil to China; and chemicals (-14.3%), mostly organic chemicals to the US following a spike in November. Services exports fell 0.4% while services imports rose 0.4%. The country's trade gap more than tripled to £84.7 billion in 2022, compared to £28 billion in 2021, with exports and imports rising 24.3% and 31.6%, respectively.
2023-02-10
UK Trade Balance Swings to Gap in November
The UK posted a trade deficit of GBP 1.8 billion in November of 2022, compared with a revised surplus of GBP 1.5 billion in the prior month. Imports rose 2.3% from a month earlier to GBP 74.7 billion, on higher acquisitions of machinery and transport equipment from both EU countries (4.7%) and non-EU countries (2.2%). Meanwhile, fuel imports from non-EU countries were down for the third straight month, because of the falling price of gas. Exports fell 2.2% to a four-month low of GBP 72.9 billion, as fuel shipments to EU countries fell for the fourth month in a row, mainly those to Poland and Sweden. The rise in exports to non-EU countries was driven by a GBP 0.7 billion increase in exports of machinery and transport equipment, along with an increase of GBP 0.4 billion in exports of chemicals. The rise in exports of machinery and transport equipment was due to shipments of aircraft to Qatar, and road vehicles to the US and China.
2023-01-13