China And Hong Kong Help UK Trade

The UK trade deficit grew from £1.8bn in August 2014 to £2.8bn in September 2014 according to estimates from the ONS. The deficit is made up of a deficit of £9.8bn on goods and a surplus of £7bn on services.

Over the month the trade in goods deficit increased by £0.9bn as exports increased but imports particularly from countries outside the EU increased even more.

The quarterly comparison shows that between Q2 and Q3 2014 the trade in goods deficit increased also by £0.9bn to £29bn. Exports fell by £0.3bn and imports increased by £0.6bn.

The UKs largest trading partner in terms of the value of goods exported and imported remains Germany but Q3 2014 recorded the largest ever deficit with Germany due to falling exports and rising imports. The UK surplus with the US hit an 8 year low but it was partially offset by better trade figures with China and Hong Kong.

Trade Deficit In Goods Now £27.4bn

The deficit on UK trade in goods widened by £0.9bn to £27.4bn in Q2 2014 compared with a deficit of £26.5bn in Q1 2014. There was a change in value of -£0.5bn or 0.7% in total exports to £71.3bn and a change of -£0.4bn or 0.4% to £98.7bn in total imports in Q2 2014.

At the level of the change in value by industry, exports in agriculture, forestry and fishing products fell by £45m and imports fell by £9m. Information and communications services exports increased by £25m and imports also increased by £2m. In professional, scientific and technical services exports fell by £3m and imports fell by £1m. Arts, entertainment and recreation imports increased by £91m and imports fell by £198m.

Trade Deficit Down To £1.3bn In March

Trade activity in March 2014 reported a deficit of £ 1.3bn compared with February's deficit of £1.7bn. The figure of £1.3bn is a result of a deficit of £8.5bn in trade in goods and a surplus of £7.2bn in trade in services.

Exports increased by 4.9% and imports by 2.8% between February and March 2014. The increase in exports to £24.6bn was due to increases in the export of finished manufactures, jewellery and cars. The increase in imports to £33.1bn was mainly due to an increase in the import of aircraft.

The quarterly comparison for Q1 2014 shows a decrease of 3.7% to £72bn in the export of goods and of 2.8% to £98.7bn in imports.

Trade Deficit Narrows To £1bn

Britain's trade deficit on goods and services was estimated to have been £1bn in December 2013 according to the ONS. This compares with a deficit of £3.6bn in November 2013. There was a deficit on goods of £7.7bn but a surplus of £6.7bn on services.

In terms of imports and exports, imports fell by 3.8% and exports grew by 2.1%. The biggest exports were in oil, chemicals and aircraft. There were falls in the import of aircraft and ships. Exports increased by 1.9% to £25bn between November and December 2013 while imports have decreased by 4.7% to £32.8bn.

Exports to countries outside the EU have increased 9.3% since July 2013 and imports have decreased by 9.6%.

Trade Deficit Narrows By £0.3bn

The UK deficit on trade in goods and services in November was estimated to have been £3.2bn compared with a £3.5bn deficit in October according to the latest ONS UK Trade statistics bulletin. There was a deficit of £9.4bn on goods which was offset by a surplus of £6.2bn on services.

Trade Deficit Increases To £2.4bn

The UK trade deficit grew to £2.4bn in May from £2.1bn in April 2013 and £2.3bn in March. The deficit on goods was £8.5bn offset by a surplus of £6.1bn in services. Trade volumes have recovered since the lower levels at the beginning of the year. Trade prices have risen. Total exports increased by £0.4bn or 1.5% to £25.6bn and total imports increased by £0.4bn or 1.3% to £34.1bn. The annual comparison shows that there was a total trade deficit of £2.1bn in May 2012.

UK Trade Deficit Down To £2.6bn

The UK trade deficit was estimated to have been £2.6bn in April according to the ONS statistical release on the UK's April trade figures. There was a £3.2bn deficit in March.

The trade deficit on goods was £8.2bn which was partly offset by a surplus of £5.6bn on services. Exports fell by 1.3% between March and April 2013. Imports fell by 2.7% over the same period. It was largely due to trading with the EU that the deficit was cut. Imports from the EU fell by about £1.3bn.

Reduction In UK Trade Deficit

The UK trade deficit in goods and services decreased to £3.1bn in March compared with the £3.4bn deficit in February. The deficit on trade in goods of £9.1bn was partially offset by a trade surplus in services of £5.9bn. The export of services was estimated at £15.6bn and imports £9.7bn. The estimated surplus on trade in services in Q1 2013 was £17.4bn with total exports £46.3bn and total imports £28.9bn.

UK Trade Deficit £3.6bn

The trade deficit in goods and services grew to £3.6bn in February from £2.5bn in January. There was a deficit of £9.4bn on goods and a surplus of £5.8bn on services.

The value of exports fell by 1.1% over the month between January and February 2013 and the value of imports increased by 1.7% over the same period. Exports to non-EU countries fell by 4.7%. Exports to the US which makes up part of that decrease fell by £329m.

The figures reflect a fall in non-ferrous metals exports and a fall in the export of pharmaceuticals and a rise in the import of pharmaceuticals and an increase in the import of motor vehicles. Export prices rose by 1.8% and import prices rose by 1.6%.

UK Trade Deficit Increased To £3.6bn

The UK deficit on trade in goods and services was estimated at £3.6bn in October compared with £2.5bn in September 2012. The deficit of £9.5bn on trade in goods was offset by a surplus of £5.9bn on trade in services. Over the three months to October the deficit on trade in all products was £22.9bn, £0.5bn higher than the previous three months.

Trade Deficit Down To £2.7bn

The UK trade deficit was reduced from £4.3bn to £2.7bn in August 2012 according to a statistical bulletin by the ONS. The EU trade deficit was £4.4bn and the non-EU trade deficit was £4bn. The total deficit on the balance of trade in goods was £8.4bn that was partly offset by a surplus of £5.7bn on services. Export of goods increased by £0.3bn to £24.9bn and imports of goods decreased by £1.3bn to £33.2bn in September 2012.

Trade Deficit Narrowed To £1.6bn In October

The seasonally adjusted trade in goods and services deficit was £1.6bn in October down from £4.3bn in September according to the ONS. It is the smallest deficit since April.

The deficit on trade in goods amounted to £7.6bn and the surplus on trade in services amounted £6bn. Exports rose to a record £26.5bn and imports fell from the record £34.6bn in September to £34.1bn in October. Both import and export prices fell in October by 0.6% and 0.4% respectively.

There was a £2.1bn increase in exports of goods to both EU (£13.9bn) and non-EU (£12.6bn) countries.

The biggest changes in key commodity value between September and October were in exports of chemicals (+£596m) and capital goods (+£327) and imports of oil (+£276m). Consumer goods other than cars had the biggest downward change (-£246).