Balance of payments, UK: April to June 2025

• The underlying UK current account deficit, excluding precious metals, widened to £23.8 billion or 3.2% of gross domestic product (GDP), in Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025; this is a change of £7.3 billion compared with the deficit of £16.5 billion (revised from £18.6 billion) for the previous quarter.

• The UK current account deficit, including trade in precious metals, widened by £7.7 billion to £28.9 billion, or 3.8% of GDP, in Quarter 2 2025.

• The total trade deficit, excluding precious metals, widened to £2.8 billion (0.4% of GDP) in Quarter 2 2025, compared with £2.5 billion (revised from £7.5 billion) in the previous quarter; the goods deficit widened to £56.6 billion, and the services surplus increased to £53.8 billion.

• The primary income account deficit widened to £16.8 billion, or 2.2% of GDP in Quarter 2 2025.

• There was a net financial inflow of £33.0 billion in Quarter 2 2025.

• The preliminary estimate of the UK's net international investment liability position on 30 June 2025 widened to £341.8 billion, from £324.4 billion (revised from £371.5 billion), as of 31 March 2025.

• Data for all quarters have been fully open to revision, with revisions to "current account, excluding precious metals" data ranging from negative 1.3% to positive 1.1% of GDP; revisions resulted from improved methods and updated Trade in goods and services and Foreign direct investment data.

Improvements to recording trade in precious metals have been implemented in this release. However, because of a processing error, these have not been fully applied. Further details, including indicative impacts on estimates and a timetable for updating estimates, are provided in Section 8: Data sources and quality. Estimates of total GDP are not affected.

The UK's current account balance is a measure of the country's balance of payments (BoP) with the rest of the world in trade, primary income, and secondary income.

The underlying UK current account deficit excluding precious metals widened to £23.8 billion, or 3.2% of gross domestic product (GDP), in Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025. This is a change of £7.3 billion from the deficit of £16.5 billion (2.2% of GDP) in the previous quarter, revised from £18.6 billion.

Table 1 summarises the latest current account data for Quarter 2 2025. The widening of the current account deficit in the latest quarter was largely caused by a £7.7 billion increase in the primary income deficit. The £5.8 billion widening of the trade in goods deficit was largely offset by a £5.5 billion expansion of the trade in services surplus.

Trade

The total trade deficit for goods and services widened slightly to £2.8 billion or 0.4% of GDP in Quarter 2 2025, from £2.5 billion in the previous quarter (revised from £7.5 billion). The trade in goods deficit widened to £56.6 billion (7.5% of GDP), and the trade in services surplus increased to £53.8 billion (7.1% of GDP).

The trade in goods deficit widened by £5.8 billion in Quarter 2 2025 because of a fall in the value of goods exports. Total goods exports fell by £6.5 billion from £100.1 billion in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2025 to £93.6 billion in Quarter 2 2025. The largest decreases in exports of goods were recorded in:

• semi-manufactured goods

• finished manufactured goods

• oil

These decreases were offset slightly by a rise in the value of other fuels which increased by £0.2 billion.

Imports of goods decreased by £0.7 billion, from £150.8 billion in Quarter 1 2025 to £150.2 billion in Quarter 2 2025. The largest decreases were recorded in imports of other fuels, which decreased by £2.0 billion, along with imports of oil, which decreased by £1.1 billion, in Quarter 2 2025. These decreases were partly offset by increases in imports of:

• semi-manufactured goods which increased by £1.2 billion

• finished manufactured goods which increased by £0.8 billion

• food, beverages and tobacco which increased by £0.6 billion

The trade in services surplus increased by £5.5 billion in Quarter 2 2025, as exports of services increased and imports of services decreased.

Exports of services increased by £3.3 billion in Quarter 2 2025 to £138.2 billion. The largest increases in exports were recorded in:

• travel services (£1.0 billion)

• intellectual property services (£1.0 billion)

• other business services (£0.9 billion)

• financial services (£0.5 billion)

Imports of services decreased by £2.2 billion in Quarter 2 2025 to £84.4 billion. The largest decreases in imports were recorded in:

• other business services (£1.2 billion)

• travel services (£0.6 billion)

• construction (£0.5 billion)

Primary income

The primary income account records income that the UK receives and pays on financial and other assets, along with the compensation of employees.

The primary income account deficit widened from £9.1 billion in Quarter 1 2025 (revised from £6.4 billion) to £16.8 billion (or 2.2% of GDP) in Quarter 2 2025, as credits decreased and debits increased.

UK receipts (credits) decreased by £2.1 billion from the previous quarter, to £94.9 billion, as earnings on all investment types fell.

UK payments to foreign investors (debits) increased by £5.6 billion from the previous quarter to £111.7 billion in Quarter 2 2025, because of increased payments on direct investment and portfolio investment, which rose by £4.7 billion and £1.7 billion, respectively. This was slightly offset by decreased payments on other investment of £0.9 billion.

Secondary income

The secondary income account shows current transfers between residents and non-residents.

The secondary income deficit decreased from £4.9 billion (or 0.7% of GDP) in Quarter 1 2025, to £4.2 billion (or 0.6% of GDP) in Quarter 2 2025.

A current account deficit, which the UK has experienced each year since 1984, places the UK as a net borrower with the rest of the world, indicating that overall expenditure in the UK exceeds national income. The UK must attract net financial inflows to finance its current (and capital) account deficit. This can be achieved through either disposing of overseas assets to overseas investors or accruing liabilities with the rest of the world.

The financial account recorded a net inflow of £33.0 billion in Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025 after recording a net inflow of £30.8 billion in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2025.

Net acquisition of UK assets (investment abroad) represented a financial outflow of £93.0 billion in Quarter 2 2025.

Portfolio investment recorded an outflow of £22.1 billion, as UK investors invested in foreign debt securities to the value of £25.2 billion, while dis-investing in foreign equity and investment fund shares to the value of £3.1 billion. UK monetary financial institutions, insurance companies and pension funds continued purchasing long-term debt securities investments in Quarter 2 2025, while UK monetary financial institutions also sold investments in equity securities. Other investment abroad recorded an outflow of £67.9 billion in Quarter 2 2025, as UK monetary financial institutions invested in foreign currency deposits and loans.

Net incurrence of UK liabilities (investment in the UK) generated an inflow of £126.0 billion in Quarter 2 2025. Other investment recorded an inflow of £112.0 billion in Quarter 2 2025, as foreign investors continued to deposit foreign currency in UK banks. Portfolio investment recorded a £19.6 billion inflow, as foreign investors invested in UK debt securities. Direct investment switched from an inflow of £9.4 billion in Quarter 1 2025 to an outflow of £5.6 billion, as direct investors disinvested in UK debt.

Further details are available in our Quarterly economic commentary article.

The international investment position (IIP) represents the UK's balance sheet with the rest of the world. IIP measures the difference between the net stock of assets and liabilities at a point in time, which we report as the last day of each quarter.

The preliminary estimate of the IIP net liability position was £341.8 billion at the end of Quarter 2 (30 June) 2025, compared with £324.4 billion at the end of Quarter 1 (31 March) 2025 (revised from £371.5 billion). This was because the value of UK liabilities increased by more than UK assets.

The UK asset position on 30 June 2025 was valued at £14,029.1 billion. The value of the UK liability position with the rest of the world was valued at £14,370.9 billion. The stock value of assets and liabilities of portfolio investment continued to rise.

In line with our National Accounts Revisions Policy, the data accompanying this release are open to revision. Revisions to the current account balance in recent years are because of incorporating methods improvements and updated Trade, and Foreign direct investment survey data. The largest revisions were in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2021, when the current account balance was revised by 1.3% of gross domestic product (GDP). Further details of the impact of methods improvements to Trade statistics for the years 1997 to 2023, are available in our Blue Book and Pink Book 2025: UK trade impact estimates article. This article explains that the largest impact on trade statistics is from improvements in the way we measure global production arrangements (globalisation), which have resulted in higher estimates of goods exports.

Balance of payments

The balance of payments is a statistical statement that summarises transactions between residents and non-residents during a period. It consists of the current account, capital account and financial account.

Current account

The current account is made up of the trade in goods and services account, the primary income account, and the secondary income account. The difference in the monetary value of these accounts is known as the current account balance. A current account balance is in surplus if overall credits exceed debits, and it is in deficit if overall debits exceed credits.

Capital account

The capital account has two components: capital transfers and the acquisition (purchase) or disposal (sale) of non-produced, non-financial assets.

Capital transfers are those involving transfers of ownership of fixed assets, transfers of funds associated with the acquisition or disposal of fixed assets, and cancellation of liabilities by creditors without any counterparts being received in return. The sale or purchase of non-produced, non-financial assets covers intangibles such as patents, copyrights, franchises, leases and other transferable contracts, and goodwill.

Financial account

The financial account covers transactions that result in a change of ownership of financial assets and liabilities between UK residents and non-residents. For example, the acquisitions and disposals of foreign shares by UK residents. The accounts are presented by the functional categories of direct investment, portfolio investment, other investment, financial derivatives, and reserve assets.

International investment position

The international investment position (IIP) is a statement that shows at the end of the period the value and composition of UK external assets (foreign assets owned by UK residents) and identified UK external liabilities (UK assets owned by foreign residents). The framework of international accounts stipulates that the IIP is also presented by functional category, consistent with primary income and the financial account.

Precious metals

In line with international standards, the Office for National Statistics' (ONS's) headline trade statistics contain the UK's exports and imports of non-monetary gold. This trade can greatly influence the size and changes in the UK's headline trade figures. This is because a substantial amount of the world's trade in non-monetary gold takes place on the London markets.

Further information on precious metals and their impact can be found in our UK trade bulletin.

Special drawing rights

Some International Monetary Fund (IMF) member countries have access to international reserve assets called special drawing rights (SDRs). A general allocation of SDRs, equivalent to approximately US $650 billion, became effective on 23 August 2021 and was allocated to participant countries in proportion to their existing quotas. The UK's SDR allocation was equivalent to $19,318 million and was received in August 2021.

Net errors and omissions

Although the balance of payments accounts are, in principle, balanced, imbalances between the current, capital, and financial accounts arise from imperfections in source data and compilation in practice. This imbalance, a usual feature of balance of payments data, is labelled "net errors and omissions."

For more detailed definitions of terms used in the balance of payments, see our glossary (PDF, 123KB).

Data sources

Balance of payments statistics are compiled from a variety of sources produced using the national accounts sector and financial accounts (SFA) framework. Some of the main sources used in the compilation include:

• overseas trade statistics (HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC))

• International Trade in Services Survey (ITIS) from the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

• International Passenger Survey (ONS); this was suspended between March 2020 and January 2021 because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and is currently undergoing transformation

• Foreign Direct Investment Survey (ONS and Bank of England (BoE))

• various financial inquiries (ONS and BoE)

• Ownership of UK Quoted Shares Survey (ONS)

Trade is measured through both exports and imports of goods and services. Data are supplied by over 30 sources, including several administrative sources, with HMRC being the largest for trade in goods. The ITIS, conducted by the ONS, is the largest single data source for trade in services.

The main source of information for UK foreign direct investment (FDI) statistics is our FDI Survey. Separate surveys are used to collect data on inward and outward FDI. This is combined with data from the BoE on the banking sector.

The statistics in this bulletin are compiled using the asset and liability measurement principle, which uses residency as the main distinction between outward and inward investments.

Changes affecting UK trade statistics

Data collection changes

Since the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, the arrangements for how the UK trades with the EU changed. HMRC implemented some data collection changes following Brexit, which affected statistics on UK trade in goods with the EU. We have made adjustments to our estimates of goods imports from the EU in 2021 and 2022 to account for these changes, however, a structural break remains in the full time series for goods imports from and exports to the EU from January 2021.

We therefore advise caution when interpreting and drawing conclusions from these statistics. Our Impact of trade in goods data collection changes on UK trade statistics: summary of adjustments and the structural break from 2021 article provides more detail.

International trade in services estimates

From September 2025 until early 2027, International trade in services (ITIS) data (which account for approximately 50% of total trade in services) will be processed once each quarterly period. During this period, the data will be based on a survey response rate of approximately 60% to 70%.

This will enable more focus on improving processing systems and ensuring methods and quality in the future. Users should be aware that, until this release, ITIS-based estimates for the periods Quarter 4 2024 (Oct to Dec) and Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2025 were based on forecasts. In line with the National Accounts Revisions Policy, these have now been replaced with estimates from the ITIS survey.

The International Passenger Survey (IPS), which is the source of travel services estimates (accounting for approximately 8% of total trade), is being transformed under the ONS's Travel and tourism project, and travel services estimates have been forecast since Quarter 1 2024. In this release, we have updated Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2024 estimates to be based on survey data. For later periods, estimates will be forecast during travel and tourism transformation.

Financial sector statistics

Our Financial Services Survey (FSS) is undergoing transformation, to improve the quality of our financial sector statistics. During the period of transformation, starting from Quarter 1 2024, financial services statistics in this release are based on forecasts.

Impact of processing error on implementing precious metals methods improvement

We have implemented improvements to recording trade in precious metals in this release, as part of our Methods improvements for Blue Book and Pink Book 2025. We removed the double counting of some precious metals bars and included previously under-recorded non-monetary gold that is not in bar form.

We have implemented these improvements across all countries for the years 1997 to 2023, and for almost all countries for the years 2024 and 2025. However, because of a processing error, the improvements were not fully applied to a small number of countries in 2024 and 2025, most notably the United States. This has resulted in an over-recording of trade in Commodity 68, "Non-ferrous metals", in both our "total trade" and our "trade excluding precious metals" series in 2024 and 2025. This affects estimates at a global, EU and non-EU level for semi-manufactured goods, total goods and total imports and exports. Consequently, it also affects the current account within the balance of payments.

The largest impact is an overestimation of approximately £2.1 billion in exports to the United States in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2025, which represents 2.1% of the UK’s total goods exports and 0.9% of total (goods and services) exports excluding precious metals. There were also smaller impacts on trade with the United States and a small number of other countries in other quarters in 2024 and 2025. Unfortunately, this was identified at too late a stage to fully implement for this release, without risking the quality of other estimates.

Separately, because of system processing issues, Table B6 in the UK Economic Accounts and Table C: Transactions with the European Union and with non-EU countries in our Balance of payments dataset do not include estimates for Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024 onwards. We will update the dataset as soon as possible and apologise for any inconvenience caused. UK trade data for EU and non-EU countries contain estimates for the full time series in our Breakdown of trade dataset, although these estimates are impacted by the processing error.

Table 3 provides indicative estimates, which are subject to change, of the impact of the error. These apply to both the total trade, and the trade excluding precious metals series.

We will update our estimates at the earliest opportunity.

Estimates for January 2024 to May 2025 will be updated in our UK trade: August 2025 bulletin, publishing on 16 October 2025

Estimates for January 2025 to May 2025 will be updated in our Gross domestic product (GDP) first quarterly estimate, UK: July to September 2025 bulletin, publishing on 13 November 2025. These revisions will be implemented outside the usual National Accounts Revisions period.

Revised estimates for Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024 to Quarter 2 (Apr to Jun) 2025 will be included in:

• our GDP quarterly national accounts, UK: July to September 2025 bulletin

• our Balance of payments, UK: July to September 2025 bulletin

• our UK economic accounts: July to September 2025 bulletin

These three releases are publishing on 22 December 2025. Revisions will take place in accordance with the National Accounts Revisions Policy.

Quality and methodology

More quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in our Balance of payments quality and methodology information (QMI).

We will continue to produce our UK balance of payments statistics in line with the UK Statistics Authority's Code of Practice for Statistics, and in accordance with internationally agreed statistical guidance and standards. This is based on the International Monetary Fund's Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual: Sixth Edition (BPM6) (PDF, 3.0MB), until those standards are updated.

Accredited official statistics

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in December 2011. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled "accredited official statistics".