UK Trade Gap Largest in 4 Months

The UK trade deficit narrowed to £4.34 billion in December 2025, down from a downwardly revised £5.56 billion in November. It marked the smallest trade gap since August, as exports fell less than imports. Exports dropped 1.0% month-on-month to a three-month low of £76.96 billion, while imports fell 2.4% to a three-month low of £81.30 billion. Goods exports shrank 3.2% mom to a three-month low of £30.09 billion, driven by lower shipments to EU countries (-1.9%) and non-EU countries (-4.4%), mainly reflecting a decline in exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products to China, Japan, and South Korea. By contrast, exports of goods to the US, including precious metals, rose 2.5% due to higher exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products and inorganic chemicals. Meanwhile, services exports grew 0.5% to £46.87 billion. On the import side, goods imports fell 3.4% to a three-month low of £52.81 billion, while services imports fell 0.5% to a three-month low of £28.49 billion.

The UK trade deficit narrowed to £6.12 billion in November 2025, down from an upwardly revised £6.53 billion in October, as exports rose while imports were unchanged. Exports grew 0.6% mom to a three-month high of £77.19 billion, while imports were almost flat at £83.31 billion. Goods exports increased 1.9% mom to a three-month high of £31.37 billion, boosted by higher shipments to EU countries (2.8%), mainly driven by increased exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products to Germany and France. Goods exports to non-EU countries also rose 1.1%, primarily due to higher exports of machinery and transport equipment. Conversely, exports of goods to the US, including precious metals, fell 10.4% due to lower exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products and inorganic chemicals. Meanwhile, services exports fell 0.3% to a five-month low of £45.82 billion. On the import side, goods imports rose 0.2% to £55.08 billion, while services imports fell 0.3% to a six-month low of £28.23 billion.

The UK trade deficit widened to £4.82 billion in October 2025, up from £1.09 billion in September, marking the largest gap since February. Exports fell 0.3% month-on-month to a four-month low of £77.00 billion, while imports rose 4.5% to a seven-month high of £81.82 billion. Goods exports fell 0.8% month-on-month to a four-month low of £30.96 billion, weighed down by lower shipments to non-EU countries (-3.0%), due to smaller increases in exports of most commodities. By contrast, goods exports to the EU rose 1.7%, primarily due to higher exports of machinery and transport equipment, including mechanical power generators to Spain. Exports of goods to the US, including precious metals, jumped 27.0% in October, following two consecutive monthly declines. Services exports edged up 0.1% to £46.04 billion. On the import side, goods imports rose 6.8% to an eight-month high of £53.51 billion, while services imports increased 0.4% to a four-month high of £28.32 billion.