The UK’s underlying goods and services trade deficit grew by £1.4bn to £8.0bn in the three months to August 2026, driven by imports rising faster than exports.
The gap between what the UK buys and sells abroad widened sharply over the summer, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics on 15 October 2026. The underlying measure — which strips out precious metals to avoid distortion from large one-off movements — stood at £8.0bn for the three months to August, compared with the three months to May 2026.
Imports increased by £2.7bn over the period while exports rose by just £1.3bn, leaving a net shortfall of £1.4bn more than the previous quarter. The goods trade deficit widened by £2.5bn to £59.1bn — a major figure that reflects continued demand for imported goods. But the services sector offered some offset: the estimated services surplus widened by £1.1bn to £51.1bn.
Adjusted for inflation, the picture is only marginally different. The volume-based measure of the total trade deficit excluding precious metals widened by £0.3bn to £8.1bn, suggesting that price effects account for only a small part of the overall movement.
Month-on-month, goods imports fell by £1.3bn, or 2.3 per cent, in August 2026 compared with July 2026. Services exports edged up by 0.4 per cent on the month, while services imports rose by 0.2 per cent — modest movements in both directions.
The figures show that while Britain’s services sector continues to run a healthy surplus, the goods deficit remains the dominant feature of the UK’s trade position — and it’s growing.
Source: @ONS