UK Trade Gap Swells by £6.2B as Imports Outpace Exports

The Office for National Statistics dropped the numbers Thursday: the UK's trade deficit in goods and services widened by £6.2 billion in the third quarter of 2026, leaving it at £10.4 billion. Imports climbed by £7.4 billion to £255.9 billion, while exports added only £1.2 billion to reach £245.5 billion. Britain bought more from the world than it sold, and the gap stretched.

The split between goods and services tells the story. The goods trade deficit widened by £6.1 billion, now sitting at £61.5 billion. The services surplus, long the UK's cushion, narrowed by £0.1 billion to £51.1 billion.

September alone was busy. Goods imports rose 6.9% to £58.1 billion and goods exports rose 6.5% to £36.7 billion, according to the ONS, leaving a monthly goods deficit of £21.4 billion.

The trade data landed alongside a mixed batch of UK figures. GDP grew 0.2% in the third quarter compared with the previous three-month period, with services up 0.9%, production up 0.1% and construction down 0.7%. On an annual basis the economy grew 1.9%. Production output separately rose 0.3% in September from August, as manufacturing and mining and quarrying advanced 0.7% and 1.4%, partly offset by drops of 1.7% in water supply and sewerage and 0.3% in electricity and gas.