UK Statistics

Statistical bulletin: UK Trade, December 2014

Released: 06 February 2015 – Download PDF

Contents

Key Points

  • UK Trade shows the extent of import and export activity and is a key contributor to the overall economic growth of the UK.
  • Seasonally adjusted, the UK’s deficit on trade in goods and services was estimated to have been £2.9 billion in December 2014, compared with £1.8 billion in November 2014. This reflects a deficit of £10.2 billion on goods, partly offset by an estimated surplus of £7.3 billion on services. The widening of the overall deficit mainly reflects an increase in the import of goods from countries outside of the European Union (EU).
  • Between Q3 and Q4 2014, the trade in goods deficit narrowed by £2.2 billion to £29.4 billion. Exports increased by £2.0 billion to £73.8 billion, attributed to increases in exports of manufactured goods. Imports decreased by £0.2 billion to £103.2 billion. Trade with countries outside of the EU was the main contributor to the deficit narrowing.
  • Annually, the total trade deficit widened to £34.8 billion in 2014. This was the largest deficit since 2010 when the deficit stood at £37.1 billion. Both exports and imports fell in 2014 when compared with 2013, however, exports fell more significantly. The widening of the deficit is mainly attributed to trade in goods as exports of goods decreased by £14.6 billion from the previous year and imports of goods decreased by £7.3 billion; this was the first annual fall in imports since 2009.

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.1.0.

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