UK trade gap largest in five months

The UK trade deficit widened to £5.26 billion in July 2025, up from £5.01 billion in June, marking the largest deficit since February.

Exports rose 2.3% mom to £76.45 billion, while imports grew 2.4% to a record-high of £81.71 billion. Goods exports increased 6.6%, boosted by a 4.6% growth in shipments to the EU—primarily due to a rise in aircraft exports to Germany.

Exports to non-EU countries climbed 8.5%, largely driven by an increase in machinery and transport equipment exports, particularly higher car shipments to the US and China. Exports of goods to the US, including precious metals, rose by £0.8 billion in July but remained below pre-tariff levels.

Services exports were down 0.4% to a three-month low of £45.83 billion. On the import side, goods imports advanced 3.9% to a 13-month high of £50.89 billion, mainly due to higher imports of ships from South Korea and aircraft & cars from Germany. Meanwhile, services imports edged down by 0.1% to £28.84 billion in July.