UK trade: September 2025

• The value of goods imports decreased by £1.0 billion (2.0%) in September 2025, because of falls in imports from both EU and non-EU countries.

• The value of goods exports fell by £1.7 billion (5.5%) in September 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 £0.5 billion (11.4%) in September 2025, to their lowest level since January 2022.

• The total goods and services trade deficit widened by £2.8 billion to £5.6 billion in Quarter 3 (July to Sept), because total imports increased while total exports decreased.

• The trade in goods deficit widened by £3.0 billion to £59.6 billion in Quarter 3 2025, while the trade in services surplus is estimated to have widened by £0.2 billion to £54.0 billion.

HMRC error affecting mineral fuels and oils

We have been made aware of a data error in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Overseas Trade Statistics (OTS) which are also an input for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) trade in goods data. This error relates to the March 2024 reference period onwards and has resulted in some fuels exports data being erroneously excluded. More details on this error are provided in Section 11: Revisions.

Total imports of goods in "current prices", which are not adjusted for inflation (as explained in Section 13: Glossary), decreased by £1.0 billion (2.0%) in September 2025 when compared with the previous month, because of a £0.9 billion (3.3%) fall in imports from the EU and a £0.1 billion (0.5%) fall in imports from non-EU countries (Table 1 and Figure 1).

Total exports of goods decreased by £1.7 billion (5.5%) in September 2025, because of a £1.3 billion (8.0%) fall in exports to non-EU countries and a £0.4 billion (2.7%) fall in exports to the EU.

Imports from the EU were £3.0 billion higher than from non-EU countries in September 2025, while exports to the EU were £0.5 billion lower than to non-EU countries.

Figure 1: Imports and exports to both EU and non-EU countries fell in September 2025

EU and non-EU goods imports and exports, excluding precious metals, current prices, seasonally adjusted, September 2022 to September 2025

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After removing the effect of inflation by calculating "chained volume measures" (as explained in Section 13: Glossary), total goods imports decreased by £0.9 billion (1.6%) in September 2025 (Figure 2). This was primarily because of a £1.1 billion (3.8%) fall in imports from the EU, which was partially offset by a £0.2 billion (0.7%) rise in imports from non-EU countries.

Total goods exports decreased by £1.6 billion (5.1%) in September 2025, after the effect of inflation was removed. This was because exports to non-EU countries fell by £1.2 billion (7.6%), while exports to the EU also fell by £0.4 billion (2.4%).

Figure 2: Exports of goods fell in both value and inflation-adjusted terms in September 2025

Imports and exports of goods, excluding precious metals, current prices and chained volume measures, seasonally adjusted, EU and non-EU, September 2022 to September 2025

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Exports of goods to the United States, including precious metals, fell by £0.5 billion (11.4%) in September 2025 (Figure 3). The value of goods exports to the United States in September 2025 were at their lowest level since January 2022 and have remained relatively low since the introduction of tariffs in April.

There were falls in exports of most commodities in September 2025. Exports of chemicals fell by £0.3 billion, and exports of machinery and transport equipment fell by £0.1 billion. The fall in chemical exports was because of lower exports of inorganic chemicals. The fall in machinery and transport equipment was because of reduced car exports. This fall in car exports may be partially linked to lower production following a cyber incident, with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reporting a 24.5% fall in car exports in September.

Imports of goods from the United States, including precious metals, increased by £0.2 billion (5.3%) in September 2025, primarily because of higher imports of fuels and chemicals.

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 6 November 2025, 34% of businesses with 10 or more employees that had exported goods in the last 12 months reported that they were affected by US tariffs in the last month. The most reported impact was additional costs, with 22% of business reporting this.

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 in our 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 the United States fell in September 2025 to their lowest level since January 2022

Goods imports from and exports to the United States, including precious metals, current prices, non-seasonally adjusted, September 2023 to September 2025

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Goods imports

Imports from the EU decreased by £0.9 billion (3.3%) in September 2025. This decrease was because of a £0.7 billion fall in imports of machinery and transport equipment, a £0.3 billion fall in imports of chemicals and a £0.2 billion fall in imports of fuels (Figure 4). The decrease in imports of machinery and transport equipment was linked to lower imports of office machinery (capital) from the Netherlands, while the fall in imports of chemicals was because of reduced imports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products from Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

Imports from non-EU countries decreased by £0.1 billion (0.5%) in September 2025. This decrease was because of a £0.4 billion fall in imports of fuels, which was mostly offset by a £0.3 billion rise in imports of chemicals. The decrease in fuel imports resulted from lower imports of crude oil from Kazakhstan. The increase in chemical imports was linked to higher imports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products from the United States, and inorganic chemicals from Canada.

Figure 4: Imports of machinery and transport equipment from the EU fell in September 2025

Changes in EU and non-EU goods imports by commodity group, excluding unspecified goods, current prices, seasonally adjusted, September 2025 compared with August 2025

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Goods exports

Exports to the EU decreased by £0.4 billion (2.7%) in September 2025. This decrease was because of a £0.2 billion fall in exports of fuels, and £0.1 billion falls in exports of chemicals, and machinery and transport equipment (Figure 5). The fall in exports of fuels was because of reduced exports of crude oil to Poland, Denmark and Germany.

Exports to non-EU countries decreased by £1.3 billion (8.0%) in September 2025. This decrease was primarily because of a £1.2 billion fall in exports of machinery and transport equipment, which was linked to lower exports of cars to China and the United States. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported a 24.5% fall in car exports in September, which it reports as being "no surprise given the total loss of production at Britain's biggest automotive employer following a cyber incident." There was also a £0.2 billion fall in exports of chemicals because of reduced exports of inorganic chemicals to the United States.

Figure 5: Exports of machinery and transport equipment to non-EU countries fell in September 2025

Changes in EU and non-EU goods exports by commodity group, excluding unspecified goods, current prices, seasonally adjusted, September 2025 compared with August 2025

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Early estimates suggest imports of services increased by £0.1 billion (0.4%) in value terms in September 2025, while exports fell by £0.3 billion (0.7%) (Figure 6). There was little difference between trade in services trends in value and inflation-adjusted terms. 

Monthly figures for trade in services for September 2025 are estimated from Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 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 September 2025 reported that there was only a marginal increase in UK service sector activity, with slower growth than earlier in the summer. The activity index was 50.8, which represented the weakest growth since May. Export sales fell, with challenging conditions across global markets, and many respondents reported "lacklustre" demand from Europe. Business expectations fell compared with the previous month but were still fairly optimistic, with 46% of companies forecasting growth for the year ahead, compared with only 14% predicting decline.

Figure 6: Exports of services fell in both value and inflation-adjusted terms in September 2025

Imports and exports of services, current prices and chained volume measures, seasonally adjusted, September 2022 to September 2025

Notes:

1. Monthly figures for trade in services for September 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.

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Total imports of goods increased by £2.3 billion (1.5%) in Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2025, compared with Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025 (Table 2). Goods imports from the EU increased by £1.3 billion (1.6%), and goods imports from non-EU countries also increased by £1.0 billion (1.5%).

Total exports of goods decreased by £0.7 billion (0.7%) in Quarter 3 2025. This fall was because goods exports to non-EU countries decreased by £0.7 billion (1.5%), while goods exports to the EU remained unchanged, when compared with the previous quarter.

For trade in services for Quarter 3 2025, International Trade in Services (ITIS) survey figures are forecast using time series data. This forecast is combined with additional data sources, to estimate trade in services totals. We plan to revise this forecast in our gross domestic product (GDP) quarterly national accounts bulletin, and in our Balance of payments bulletin, both publishing on 22 December 2025, using ITIS survey data.

Early estimates indicate that imports of services increased by around £0.1 billion (0.1%) in Quarter 3 2025, compared with Quarter 2 2025, while exports of services rose by an estimated £0.3 billion (0.2%).

Imports of goods from the EU increased by £1.3 billion (1.6%) in Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2025 compared with Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025. This was because of a £0.5 billion rise in imports of machinery and transport equipment, £0.4 billion increases in imports of food and live animals and material manufactures and a £0.2 billion rise in imports of miscellaneous manufactures (Figure 7). These increases were partially offset by a £0.3 billion fall in chemical imports. The rise in machinery and transport equipment was primarily because of higher imports of aircraft from Germany, while the increase in food and live animals was linked to higher imports of "coffee, tea, cocoa, etc." from the Netherlands, Germany and Poland. The fall in chemical imports was because of reduced imports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products from Ireland, Spain and Italy.

Imports from non-EU countries increased by £1.0 billion (1.5%) in Quarter 3 2025. This was because of a £0.6 billion rise in imports of machinery and transport equipment, a £0.3 billion increase in chemical imports, and a £0.2 billion rise in imports of miscellaneous manufactures. The increases were partially offset by a £0.2 billion fall in fuel imports. The rise in imports of machinery and transport equipment was linked to higher imports of cars from China, telecoms and sound equipment (capital) from Vietnam, and office machinery (capital) from the United States. The increase in chemicals was linked to higher imports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products from the United States and inorganic chemicals from Canada.

Exports of goods to the EU remained unchanged in Quarter 3 2025 when compared with Quarter 2 2025. This was because a £0.4 billion rise in fuel exports was offset by a £0.3 billion fall in chemical exports, along with a £0.1 billion fall in exports of material manufactures. The increase in fuel exports was because of a rise in exports of crude oil to Germany, Poland and the Netherlands, while the decrease in chemical exports was because of a fall in medicinal and pharmaceutical products from Belgium, Ireland and Spain.

Exports of goods to non-EU countries decreased by £0.7 billion (1.5%) in Quarter 3 2025. This was because of a £0.6 billion fall in exports of machinery and transport equipment and a £0.3 billion fall in chemical exports. These falls were partially offset by a £0.5 billion rise in exports of material manufactures. The decrease in exports of machinery and transport equipment was mostly because of a fall in car exports to the United States and lower exports of mechanical power generators (intermediate) to Turkey and China. The fall in chemical exports was because of lower exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products to the United States.

Figure 7: Exports of machinery and transport equipment to non-EU countries fell in Quarter 3 2025

Changes in imports and exports by goods commodity group, excluding unspecified goods, current prices, seasonally adjusted, Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2025 compared with Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025

Early estimates indicate that imports of services increased by £0.1 billion (0.1%) in Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2025, compared with Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025. This rise was because of £0.2 billion increases in imports of insurance and pension services, construction services and intellectual property services. These increases were mostly offset by a fall of £0.8 billion in imports of other business services (Figure 8).

Exports of services increased by £0.3 billion (0.2%) in Quarter 3 2025, primarily because of a £0.7 billion rise in exports of intellectual property services, which was partially offset by a £0.3 billion fall in exports of other business services and a £0.2 billion fall in financial services exports.

The total goods and services trade deficit, excluding precious metals, widened by £2.8 billion to £5.6 billion in Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2025 compared with Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025 (Figure 9). Imports rose by £2.4 billion over this period, while exports fell by £0.4 billion. When removing the effect of inflation, the total trade deficit, excluding precious metals, widened by £3.3 billion to £15.0 billion.

The trade in goods deficit in value terms, excluding precious metals, widened by £3.0 billion to £59.6 billion in Quarter 3 2025, as goods imports rose while exports fell. The trade in services surplus is estimated to have widened by £0.2 billion to £54.0 billion, as exports of services rose by more than imports.

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.

Notes:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. This interactive map denotes country boundaries in accordance with statistical classifications set out in Appendix 4 of the Balance of Payments (BoP) Vademecum (PDF, 4.2MB) and do not represent the UK policy on disputed territories.

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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

Notes:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. These interactive charts denote country boundaries in accordance with statistical classifications set out within Appendix 4 of the Balance of Payments (BoP) Vademecum (PDF, 4.2MB) and does not represent the UK policy on disputed territories.

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In accordance with our National Accounts Revisions Policy, the data in this release have been revised from July 2025 to August 2025 for both goods and services.

HMRC error affecting mineral fuels and oils

We have been made aware of a data error in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Overseas Trade Statistics (OTS), which are also an input for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) trade in goods data. This error relates to the March 2024 reference period onwards and has resulted in some fuels exports data being erroneously excluded.

In the HMRC data, this affects UK exports of the commodities in Chapter 27: Mineral fuels and oils, to EU and non-EU countries. Further details are available on the HMRC website. This error will affect Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) 3: Fuels in ONS UK trade data.

While HMRC have notified us of this data error, additional processing and analysis needs to be completed by the ONS to further quantify the impact on our UK trade outputs. Early ONS analysis suggests that, on a current price and non-seasonally adjusted basis, this impact represents approximately 1.3% of total trade in goods exports in 2024 (equivalent to approximately £5 billion), and 2.1% of total trade in goods exports in 2025 (equivalent to approximately £6 billion). This is equivalent to 0.6% of total trade exports in 2024 (including both goods and services) and 0.9% in 2025.

Further analysis and detailed assessment are required to determine impacts on a chained volume measures and seasonally adjusted basis, as well as potential onward impacts to gross domestic product (GDP). While HMRC data form an important part of our UK trade estimates, the ONS uses a range of other data sources. Our estimates for the GDP first quarterly estimate are always subject to revision, as more data become available, and any potential impact on GDP will be considered alongside other revisions.

The ONS is currently undertaking further processing and will correct the data used in UK trade estimates in our Balance of payments and GDP quarterly national accounts releases scheduled for 22 December 2025, and in our UK trade: November 2025 release scheduled for 15 January 2026. This is the earliest practical opportunity, in line with the National Accounts Revision Policy.

Users are advised to exercise caution when using the fuel exports data and associated aggregates. Imports data are not affected.

As these are indicative impacts, which we are still working through our systems, we would recommend users continue to use the headline trade figures included in this release, as our current best estimates of UK trade.

Precious metals methods improvement

As part of our Methods improvements for Blue Book and Pink Book 2025, we implemented improvements to the way we record trade in precious metals. We 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 was implemented for all countries back to January 1997 in our UK trade: August 2025 release. 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 release or in our Balance of payments, UK: April to June 2025 release published on 30 September 2025.

Estimates for Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024 to Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025 have been updated in our GDP first quarterly estimate, UK: July to September 2025 release. These corrected estimates have been completed exceptionally outside of the usual National Accounts Revisions Policy to provide consistency between GDP and UK trade data.

When incorporating these corrected trade estimates into GDP, the processing included running seasonal adjustment that was applied to all commodities back to Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024. While only non-ferrous metals data were corrected, the inclusion of full July and August 2025 data in processing resulted in slightly revised seasonally adjusted series across all other commodities. The resulting revisions affect both current prices and chained volume measures from Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024 to Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025. The scale for these revisions can be seen in Table 3.

Estimates for Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024 to Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025 will be revised in our Balance of payments, UK: July to September 2025 bulletin publishing on 22 December 2025. These revisions will take place in accordance with the National Accounts Revisions Policy.

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 2022 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.

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

Following the restart of our monthly business prices publications on 22 October 2025, in this release, business prices data with corrected chain linking methods and updated historic weights have been used in our monthly trade dataset for Producer Price Indices (PPI), Import Prices Indices (IPI), Export Price Indices (EPI), and Service Producer Price Indices (SPPI) for July, August and September 2025.

These updates to business prices data will be incorporated into UK trade estimates in line with our National Accounts Revisions Policy.

Further information on the chain linking error and the impact of methodological changes in the producer prices dataset are detailed in our Impact of correction to chain-linking methodology used in Producer Price Indices and Services Producer Price Indices: October 2025 article published on 22 October 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's) 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 QMI.