Cynnwys
- Main points
- Monthly trade in goods
- UK trade with the United States
- Monthly trade in goods by commodity
- Monthly trade in services
- Three-monthly trade in goods and services
- Explore UK trade in goods country-by-commodity data for 2024
- Revisions
- Data on UK trade
- Glossary
- Data sources and quality
- Related links
- Cite this statistical bulletin
1. Main points
The value of goods imports was unchanged in August 2025, with a rise in imports from the EU offset by a fall in imports from non-EU countries.
The value of goods exports fell by £1.1 billion (3.3%) in August 2025, with a decrease in exports to both EU and non-EU countries.
Exports of goods to the United States, including precious metals, fell by £0.7 billion in August 2025.
The total goods and services trade deficit widened by £1.7 billion to £5.2 billion in the three months to August 2025, because total exports fell by more than imports.
The trade in goods deficit widened by £3.0 billion to £58.4 billion in the three months to August 2025, while the trade in services surplus is estimated to have widened by £1.3 billion to £53.2 billion.
In accordance with our National Accounts Revisions Policy, the data in this release have been revised back to January 1997, when compared with trade figures published in our previous UK trade: July 2025 bulletin on 12 September 2025. More information on these revisions are provided in Section 8: Revisions, including the implementation of the precious metals methods improvement. As a result, the data published in this release are not fully consistent with the GDP quarterly national accounts and Balance of payments releases for the period Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024 to Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025.
Please note that all trade figures exclude non-monetary gold (NMG) and other precious metals unless otherwise stated. This is because movements in NMG, an important component of precious metals, can be large and highly volatile, distorting underlying trends in goods exports and imports. Trade statistics in this bulletin are in value terms (current prices) not inflation-adjusted terms (chained volume measures) unless otherwise stated.
2. Monthly trade in goods
Total imports of goods in "current prices", which are not adjusted for inflation (as explained in Section 10: Glossary), remained unchanged in August 2025 when compared with the previous month because a £0.2 billion (0.8%) rise in imports from the EU was offset by a £0.2 billion (0.8%) fall in imports from non-EU countries (Table 1 and Figure 1).
Total exports of goods decreased by £1.1 billion (3.3%) in August 2025 because of a £0.8 billion (5.3%) fall in exports to the EU, and a £0.2 billion (1.5%) fall in exports to non-EU countries.
Imports from the EU were £3.8 billion higher than from non-EU countries in August 2025, while exports to the EU were £1.5 billion lower than to non-EU countries.
Exports | Imports | Balance | ||
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Total trade in goods: August 2025 vs July 2025 | Value (£bn) | 31.0 | 51.3 | -20.3 |
Change (£bn) | -1.1 | 0.0 | -1.1 | |
% Change | -3.3 | 0.0 | ||
EU: August 2025 vs July 2025 | Value (£bn) | 14.7 | 27.6 | -12.8 |
Change (£bn) | -0.8 | 0.2 | -1.0 | |
% Change | -5.3 | 0.8 | ||
Non-EU: August 2025 vs July 2025 | Value (£bn) | 16.2 | 23.7 | -7.5 |
Change (£bn) | -0.2 | -0.2 | -0.1 | |
% Change | -1.5 | -0.8 |
Download this table Table 1: Total exports of goods decreased, and imports of goods remained unchanged in August 2025
.xls .csvFigure 1: Exports to both EU and non-EU countries fell in August 2025
EU and non-EU goods imports and exports, excluding precious metals, current prices, seasonally adjusted, August 2022 to August 2025
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After removing the effect of inflation by calculating "chained volume measures" (as explained in Section 10: Glossary), total goods imports increased by £0.7 billion (1.3%) in August 2025 (Figure 2). This was because of a £0.4 billion (1.4%) rise in imports from the EU and a £0.3 billion (1.1%) rise in imports from non-EU countries.
Total goods exports decreased by £0.9 billion (2.7%) in August 2025 after the effect of inflation was removed. This was because exports to the EU fell by £0.6 billion (4.0%), while exports to non-EU countries also fell by £0.3 billion (1.6%).
Figure 2: Exports of goods fell in both value and inflation-adjusted terms in August 2025
Imports and exports of goods, excluding precious metals, current prices and chained volume measures, seasonally adjusted, EU and non-EU, August 2022 to August 2025
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Notes:
- Our chained volume measures (CVM) series are based on indices impacted by issues affecting the Producer Price Index (PPI). We therefore advise caution in interpreting CVM movements. More detail is provided in Section 11: Data sources and quality.
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Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys3. UK trade with the United States
Exports of goods to the United States, including precious metals, fell by £0.7 billion in August 2025 (Figure 3) because of falls in exports of machinery and transport equipment, chemicals and material manufactures. This was partially offset by an increase in exports of fuels. The value of goods exports to the United States remained relatively low.
Imports of goods from the United States, including precious metals, decreased by £0.5 billion in August 2025 primarily because of a fall in imports of fuels, mainly because of lower imports of refined and crude oil.
President Trump formally announced a range of tariffs on imports of goods to the United States on 2 April 2025. The UK government subsequently signed a trade deal with the United States, which came into force on 30 June 2025. The deal includes reducing the tariff on UK car exports to the United States and removing tariffs on UK aluminium and steel exports. All other commodities remain subject to the additional 10% blanket tariff on US imports in effect since April 2025.
There have been considerable changes in the United States international trade policy in recent months, which has posed challenges for UK businesses. According to our Business insights and impact on the UK economy bulletin published on 2 October 2025, 32% of businesses with 10 or more employees that had exported goods in the last 12 months reported they were affected by US tariffs in the last month.
It is important to note that monthly data can be erratic, therefore movements should be treated with caution.
More detailed estimates on the UK's trade in goods with the United States can be found in our Trade in goods: country-by-commodity imports dataset and Trade in goods: country-by-commodity exports dataset. Our UK trade with the United States article provides a more detailed look at our trade in goods and services with the United States in 2024.
Figure 3: Exports to and imports from the United States fell in August 2025
Goods imports from and exports to the United States, including precious metals, current prices, non-seasonally adjusted, August 2023 to August 2025
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Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys4. Monthly trade in goods by commodity
Goods imports
Imports from the EU increased by £0.2 billion (0.8%) in August 2025. This increase was because of £0.1 billion rises in imports of material manufactures, fuels and chemicals, which were partially offset by a £0.1 billion fall in imports of miscellaneous manufactures (Figure 4).
Imports from non-EU countries decreased by £0.2 billion (0.8%) in August 2025. This decrease was because a £0.7 billion fall in imports of machinery and transport equipment was partially offset by a £0.5 billion increase in imports of fuels. The fall in imports of machinery and transport equipment was linked to lower imports of telecoms and sound equipment (capital) from China and mechanical power generators (intermediate) from Indonesia and the United States. The increase in fuel imports was linked to higher imports of crude oil from Kazakhstan and Norway.
Figure 4: Imports of machinery and transport equipment from non-EU countries decreased in August 2025
Changes in EU and non-EU goods imports by commodity group, current prices, seasonally adjusted, August 2025 compared with July 2025
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Goods exports
Exports to the EU decreased by £0.8 billion (5.3%) in August 2025. This decrease was because of a £0.5 billion fall in exports of machinery and transport equipment, and a £0.2 billion fall in chemical exports (Figure 5). The fall in exports of machinery and transport equipment was because of reduced exports of both aircraft and mechanical power generators (intermediate) to Germany, while the decrease in exports of chemicals was because of reduced exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products to Germany and Ireland.
Exports to non-EU countries decreased by £0.2 billion (1.5%) in August 2025. This decrease was because of a £0.4 billion fall in exports of material manufactures, and £0.2 billion falls in exports of both chemicals and fuels. These decreases were partially offset by a £0.5 billion rise in exports of machinery and transport equipment.
The decrease in exports of material manufactures was primarily because of a fall in exports of non-ferrous metals to Switzerland and the United States. The decrease in chemical exports was because of lower exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products to the United States, while the fall in fuel exports was linked to lower exports of crude oil to China. The increase in exports of machinery and transport equipment was linked to a rise in exports of mechanical power generators (intermediate) to Singapore and Japan.
Figure 5: Exports of machinery and transport equipment to non-EU countries rose in August 2025
Changes in EU and non-EU goods exports by commodity group, current prices, seasonally adjusted, August 2025 compared with July 2025
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Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys5. Monthly trade in services
Early estimates suggest imports of services remained largely stable in value terms in August 2025, while exports rose by £0.2 billion (0.5%) (Figure 6). There was little difference between trade in services trends in value and inflation-adjusted terms.
Monthly figures for trade in services for August 2025 are forecast from Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025 data, using time series and additional data sources. Early estimates of trade in services are revised in line with the National Accounts Revisions Policy. Our UK trade quality and methodology information (QMI) has more detail on how our trade in services statistics are compiled.
The S&P Global UK Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) (PDF, 131KB) for August 2025 reported strong growth in business activity, with rising sales in both domestic and overseas markets. There was a rise in new export orders for the first time since March, especially to developed economies such as the EU and the United States. Business expectations also improved, with confidence hitting a 10-month high because of lower borrowing costs, hopes of a turnaround in customer demand and fewer concerns about the impact of US tariffs.
Figure 6: Exports of services rose in both value and inflation-adjusted terms in August 2025
Imports and exports of services, current prices and chained volume measures, seasonally adjusted, August 2022 to August 2025
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Notes:
- Monthly figures for trade in services for August 2025 are forecast using time series and additional data sources. Early estimates of trade in services are revised in line with the National Accounts Revisions Policy.
- Our chained volume measures (CVM) series are based on indices impacted by issues affecting the Producer Price Index (PPI). We therefore advise caution in interpreting CVM movements. More detail is provided in Section 11: Data sources and quality.
Download the data
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys6. Three-monthly trade in goods and services
Total imports of goods decreased by £0.4 billion (0.3%) in the three months to August 2025, compared with the three months to May 2025 (Table 2). This fall was because of a £0.4 billion (0.5%) decrease in goods imports from the EU, while goods imports from non-EU countries remained unchanged.
Total exports of goods decreased by £3.4 billion (3.5%) in the three months to August 2025. This fall was because goods exports to non-EU countries decreased by £2.6 billion (5.2%), while goods exports to the EU decreased by £0.8 billion (1.7%).
Early estimates indicate that imports of services increased by around £0.1 billion (0.1%) in the three months to August 2025, compared with the three months to May 2025, while exports of services rose by an estimated £1.4 billion (1.0%). Figures for trade in services for the three months to August 2025 are forecast using International Trade in Services (ITIS) time series data, along with additional data sources, to estimate trade in services totals.
Exports | Imports | Balance | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Total trade: three months to August 2025 vs three months to May 2025 | Value (£bn) | 231.5 | 236.7 | -5.2 |
Change (£bn) | -2.0 | -0.3 | -1.7 | |
% Change | -0.9 | -0.1 | ||
Total trade in goods: three months to August 2025 vs three months to May 2025 | Value (£bn) | 93.2 | 151.6 | -58.4 |
Change (£bn) | -3.4 | -0.4 | -3.0 | |
% Change | -3.5 | -0.3 | ||
Trade in goods, EU: three months to August 2025 vs three months to May 2025 | Value (£bn) | 45.0 | 80.6 | -35.7 |
Change (£bn) | -0.8 | -0.4 | -0.3 | |
% Change | -1.7 | -0.5 | ||
Trade in goods, non-EU: three months to August 2025 vs three months to May 2025 | Value (£bn) | 48.2 | 71.0 | -22.8 |
Change (£bn) | -2.6 | 0.0 | -2.6 | |
% Change | -5.2 | 0.0 | ||
Total trade in services: three months to August 2025 vs three months to May 2025 | Value (£bn) | 138.3 | 85.1 | 53.2 |
Change (£bn) | 1.4 | 0.1 | 1.3 | |
% Change | 1.0 | 0.1 |
Download this table Table 2: Both imports and exports fell in the three months to August 2025
.xls .csvThe total goods and services trade deficit, excluding precious metals, widened by £1.7 billion to £5.2 billion in the three months to August 2025, because total exports fell by more than imports (Figure 7). Total exports fell by £2.0 billion because of a fall in exports of goods, which was partially offset by a rise in exports of services. Total imports fell by £0.3 billion, primarily because of a fall in imports of goods which was partially offset by a small rise in imports of services. When removing the effect of inflation, the total trade deficit, excluding precious metals, widened by £2.8 billion to £15.0 billion.
The trade in goods deficit in value terms, excluding precious metals, widened by £3.0 billion to £58.4 billion in the three months to August 2025, because goods exports decreased by more than imports. The trade in services surplus is estimated to have narrowed by around £1.3 billion to £53.2 billion, as exports of services increased more than imports.
Figure 7: The total trade in goods and services deficit, excluding precious metals, widened in the three months to August 2025, because total exports fell by more than imports
UK trade balances, current prices, seasonally adjusted, three-monthly periods, August 2022 to August 2025
Source: UK trade statistics from the Office for National Statistics
Notes:
- Three-monthly data provide more stable estimates of trade balances, however this may mask trends in monthly data.
Download this chart Figure 7: The total trade in goods and services deficit, excluding precious metals, widened in the three months to August 2025, because total exports fell by more than imports
Image .csv .xls7. Explore UK trade in goods country-by-commodity data for 2024
Explore the 2024 trade in goods data using our interactive tools. Our data break down UK trade in goods with 236 countries by 122 commodities.
Use our map to get a better understanding of what goods the UK traded with a country. Select a country by hovering over it (desktop only) or use the drop-down menu.
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Notes:
- For more information about our methods and how we compile these statistics, see our Trade in goods, country-by-commodity experimental data: 2011 to 2016 article. Users should note that the data published alongside this release are official statistics and no longer in development.
- These data are our best estimate of these bilateral UK trade flows. Users should note that alternative estimates are available, in some cases, through the statistical agencies for bilateral countries or through central databases, such as United Nations (UN) Comtrade.
- This interactive map denotes country boundaries in accordance with statistical classifications set out in Appendix A4 of the Balance of Payments (BoP) Vademecum (PDF, 4.2MB) and do not represent the UK policy on disputed territories.
You can also explore the 2024 trade in goods data by commodity, such as car exports to the EU, and UK tea or coffee imports. Select a commodity from the drop-down menu or select the levels with your digit or cursor to explore the data.
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Notes:
- For more information about our methods and how we compile these statistics, see our Trade in goods, country-by-commodity experimental data: 2011 to 2016 article. Users should note that the data published alongside this release are official statistics and no longer in development.
- These data are our best estimate of these bilateral UK trade flows. Users should note that alternative estimates are available, in some cases, through the statistical agencies for bilateral countries or through central databases, such as United Nations (UN) Comtrade.
- This interactive map denotes country boundaries in accordance with statistical classifications set out in Appendix A4 of the Balance of Payments (BoP) Vademecum (PDF, 4.2MB) and do not represent the UK policy on disputed territories.
8. Revisions
In accordance with our National Accounts Revisions Policy, the data in this release have been revised back to January 1997, when compared with trade figures published in our previous UK trade: July 2025 bulletin on 12 September 2025.
Precious metals methods improvement
As part of our Methods improvements for Blue Book and Pink Book 2025, we have implemented improvements to the way we record trade in precious metals in this release. We have removed the double counting of some precious metals bars and included previously under-recorded non-monetary gold that is not in bar form.
This methods improvement has been implemented in this release for all countries back to January 1997. However, because of a processing error these improvements were not fully applied to a small number of countries for 2024 and 2025 in our GDP quarterly national accounts, UK: April to June 2025 and Balance of payments, UK: April to June 2025 bulletins published on 30 September 2025. As a result, the data published in this release are not fully consistent with the GDP quarterly national accounts and Balance of payments releases for the period Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024 to Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025.
Estimates for January 2024 to May 2025 will be updated in our 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 Policy.
For balance of payments, estimates for Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024 to Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025 will be updated in our Balance of Payments, UK: July to September 2025 bulletin publishing on 22 December 2025. These revisions will be implemented in accordance with National Accounts Revisions Policy.
HMRC revisions to Mechanical Appliances
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have made revisions to imports and exports of Chapter 84: Mechanical Appliances from August 2024 to May 2025, following an in-depth quality assurance review. These revisions affect 71MI Mechanical power generators (intermediate) in the ONS's UK trade data. Further detail is available in the HMRC Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS) release published on 14 August 2025.
In accordance with the National Accounts Revisions Policy, estimates were revised for April and May 2025 in our UK trade: June 2025 bulletin and revisions for the period August 2024 to March 2025 have been incorporated in this release.
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys9. Data on UK trade
UK trade: goods and services publication tables
Dataset | Released 16 October 2025
Monthly data on the UK's trade in goods and services, including trade inside and outside the EU. This replaces our previous dataset, UK trade: goods and services (up until July 2018).
UK trade time series
Dataset MRET | Released 16 October 2025
Monthly value of UK exports and imports of goods and services by current price, chained volume measures (CVMs) and implied deflators (IDEFs).
UK trade in goods by classification of product by activity time series
Dataset MQ10 | Released 16 October 2025
Quarterly and annual time series of the value of UK imports and exports of goods grouped by product. Goods are attributed to the activity of which they are the principal products.
Customise my dataset: country by commodity
Dataset | Released 16 October 2025
Customisable version of country by commodity data on the UK's trade in goods, including trade by all countries and selected commodities, exports and imports, non-seasonally adjusted.
Other related trade data
Dataset web page | Released 16 October 2025
Other UK trade data related to this publication. These include trade in goods for all countries with the UK, monthly export and import country-by-commodity trade in goods data, and revisions triangles for monthly trade data.
10. Glossary
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Chained volume measures
Chained volume measures (CVMs) are a "real" measure in that they have had the effect of inflation removed to measure the change in volume between consecutive periods, fixing the prices of goods and services in one period (known as the base year, which is 2023 for trade).
Current price measures
Current price estimates (CPs) measure the actual price paid for goods or services and are not adjusted for inflation. Unless otherwise stated, all current price data are provided in £ million and are seasonally adjusted.
Inflation
Inflation is the change in the average price level of goods and services over a period of time.
Implied deflators
An implied deflator (IDEF) shows the implied change in average prices for the respective components of the trade balance, for example, the IDEF for imports will show the average price movement for imports.
Precious metals and non-monetary gold
Precious metals include non-monetary gold, silver bullion, platinum bullion and palladium bullion. Non-monetary gold forms the majority of the commodity group "unspecified goods" and is the technical term for gold bullion not owned by central banks. Silver, platinum and palladium bullion form part of the "material manufactures" commodity group. This change is part of our Methods improvements for Blue Book and Pink Book 2025.
Trade balance
The trade balance is the difference between exports and imports or exports minus imports. When the value of exports is greater than the value of imports, the trade balance is in surplus. When the value of imports is greater than the value of exports, the trade balance is in deficit. The balance is sometimes referred to as "net exports".
A full Glossary of economic terms is available.
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys11. Data sources and quality
The UK leaving the EU and the subsequent transition period, along with the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, supply chain disruption and global recession, have caused higher levels of volatility in trade statistics in recent years. The monthly analysis shows short-term trade movements, but it is important to note that monthly data can be erratic, and therefore movements should be treated with caution.
Data collection changes
Since the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, the arrangements for how the UK trades with the EU changed.
HM Revenue and Customs (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.
Data sources
Data from HMRC make up over 90% of trade in goods value and are the main source for this release. Data from the quarterly International Trade in Services (ITIS) Survey make up over 50% of trade in services data. View our UK trade quality and methodology information (QMI) for more detail.
Data from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) are the main source for travel services, historically making up around 8% of total imports. The survey has now fully resumed following the suspension in 2020. View our UK trade QMI for more detail.
Unless otherwise specified, data within this bulletin are in current prices and have not been adjusted to remove the effects of inflation. In line with international standards, our headline trade statistics contain the UK's exports and imports of non-monetary gold. More information can be found in our National Accounts article: A brief explanation of non-monetary gold in national accounts.
Method
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.
Our UK trade figures are produced using country of dispatch, which records imports as coming from the country dispatching the shipments. However, trade figures can also be produced using country of origin, as is used by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Users should be aware of the different accounting methods used and the resulting differences across trade figures.
Monthly trade in services data are taken from quarterly trade in services data and are split across the months within that quarter through estimation. In months where we have a full quarter's data, we revise previous estimates of monthly values within that quarter.
View more detailed information about the methods used to produce UK trade statistics in our UK trade methodology.
Allocation of precious metals
Our headline trade statistics contain the UK's exports and imports of non-monetary gold, in line with international standards. More information can be found in our National Accounts article: A brief explanation of non-monetary gold in national accounts.
As part of our Methods improvements for Blue Book and Pink Book 2025, we have implemented improvements to the way we record trade in precious metals in this release. We have removed the double counting of some precious metals bars and included previously under-recorded non-monetary gold that is not in bar form.
Precious metals include non-monetary gold, silver bullion, platinum bullion and palladium bullion. Non-monetary gold forms the majority of the commodity group "unspecified goods" and is the technical term for gold bullion not owned by central banks. Silver, platinum and palladium bullion form part of the "material manufactures" commodity group.
We are continuing to review our methodology for the allocation of precious metals, to ensure that we capture all trade of non-ferrous metals where these commodities are traded as a financial asset.
Pausing of Producer Prices publications
Business prices data with corrected chain-linking methods have been used in our monthly UK trade data for producer price indices (PPI), import price indices (IPI) and export price indices (EPI) for all periods in this release
Any further updates to price data following the restart of the monthly business prices publication will be incorporated in GDP estimates in line with our National Accounts Revision Policy.
Further information on the chain-linking error in the producer prices dataset are detailed in our Methods update for Producer Price Indices (PPI) and Service Producer Price Indices (SPPI) published on 10 July 2025.
Strengths and limitations
National Statistics designation status
The UK Statistics Authority suspended the National Statistics designation of UK trade (PDF, 72.9KB) on 14 November 2014. We have responded to all of the specific requirements of the Office for Statistics Regulation's (OSR) reassessment of UK trade. As part of our engagement with the OSR team, we are sharing our continuous improvement and development plans to support UK trade statistics regaining Accredited official statistics status. We welcome feedback on our new trade statistics, developments, and future plans by email to trade@ons.gov.uk.
Trade asymmetries
Asymmetries can be caused by a range of conceptual and measurement variations between the estimation practices of different countries. Statistical agencies are likely to have different source data, estimation methods, and methodological, geographical, and definitional differences. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publishes more information on UK trade asymmetries. We publish analysis on trade in services asymmetries in our Asymmetries in trade data articles.
More quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in our UK trade quality and methodology information (QMI).
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys13. Cite this statistical bulletin
Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 16 October 2025, ONS website, statistical bulletin, UK trade: August 2025