Trade: Key Economic Indicators

Dominic Webb

Trade: Key Economic Indicators

Published Thursday, May 10, 2018

Latest statistics on UK's trade performance and balance of payments.

In 2017, the UK’s exports of goods and services totalled £622 billion and imports totalled £651 billion. The EU accounted for 44% of UK exports of goods and services and 53% of imports in 2017.

Overall, the UK imports more than it exports meaning that it runs a trade deficit. A deficit of £136 billion on trade in goods was partially offset by a surplus of £107 billion on trade in services in 2017. The overall trade deficit was £29 billion in 2017. Over the three months to March, the trade deficit was £6.9 billion compared with £7.6 billion in the previous three months.

The current account, which includes investment income and transfers as well as trade, saw a deficit of £82.9 billion in 2017, compared with £113.6 billion in 2016. The current account deficit was 4.1% of GDP in 2017 compared with 5.8% in 2016.

The current account deficit was £18.4 billion in Q4 2017 (3.6% of GDP), down from £19.2 billion (3.7% of GDP) in Q3 2017.

Commons Briefing papers SN02815

Author: Dominic Webb

Topics: Economic situation, International trade