UK balance of payments and current account
The UK current account balance — the widest measure of the country's transactions with the rest of the world — shown in pounds and as a share of GDP, alongside total trade in goods and services, the goods balance broken down by SITC product group, and exports, imports and the balance of services by category.
| Indicator | Q2-2026 | Q1-2026 | Q4-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q1-2025 | Q4-2024 | Q3-2024 | Q2-2024 | Q1-2024 | Q4-2023 | Q3-2023 | Q2-2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current account balance | -22,134 | -27,178 | -20,095 | -24,482 | -23,190 | -26,944 | -14,107 | -23,413 | -20,960 | -28,045 | -15,739 | -34,682 | ||
| Current account balance as a share of GDP | -2.8 | -3.5 | -2.6 | -3.2 | -3.1 | -3.7 | -1.9 | -3.3 | -3 | -4.1 | -2.3 | -5 | ||
| Total trade, exports | 239,322 | 235,216 | 232,866 | 229,194 | 232,547 | 228,253 | 226,887 | 224,558 | 217,273 | 214,147 | 215,466 | 221,330 | ||
| Total trade, imports | 254,048 | 246,684 | 240,551 | 240,478 | 241,575 | 234,702 | 225,395 | 235,844 | 221,794 | 226,458 | 222,131 | 230,353 | ||
| Total trade balance | -14,726 | -11,468 | -7,685 | -11,284 | -9,028 | -6,449 | 1,492 | -11,286 | -4,521 | -12,311 | -6,665 | -9,023 | ||
| Trade in goods balance | -66,571 | -64,496 | -60,183 | -62,779 | -54,858 | -57,224 | -45,799 | -58,115 | -43,884 | -48,847 | -44,840 | -48,900 | ||
| Trade in goods balance by product group7 | ||||||||||||||
| Food, beverages and tobacco | -10,753 | -10,758 | -10,869 | -10,286 | -9,640 | -9,713 | -9,344 | -9,956 | -9,190 | -9,313 | -8,411 | -8,492 | ||
| Basic materials | -1,581 | -1,422 | -1,480 | -1,348 | -1,440 | -1,347 | -1,094 | -1,393 | -1,300 | -1,453 | -1,382 | -1,575 | ||
| Oil | -4,734 | -3,600 | -3,781 | -5,818 | -1,689 | -6,256 | -3,229 | -5,070 | -4,567 | -6,169 | -4,929 | -4,645 | ||
| Fuels other than oil | -3,508 | -2,938 | -3,087 | -2,858 | -4,607 | -3,633 | -2,916 | -3,250 | -2,899 | -4,231 | -2,940 | -4,467 | ||
| Semi-manufactures | -7,887 | -11,028 | -8,607 | -7,217 | -5,700 | -8,015 | -5,401 | -7,564 | -6,055 | -4,793 | -4,957 | -5,820 | ||
| Finished manufactures | -29,629 | -27,604 | -30,219 | -28,449 | -26,298 | -25,946 | -24,625 | -26,036 | -22,638 | -25,584 | -24,670 | -27,726 | ||
| Unspecified goods | -8,479 | -7,146 | -2,140 | -6,803 | -5,484 | -2,314 | 810 | -4,846 | 2,765 | 2,696 | 2,449 | 3,825 | ||
| Exports of services by category11 | ||||||||||||||
| Financial services | 28,369 | 28,117 | 27,081 | 26,493 | 26,403 | 25,344 | 25,534 | 24,583 | 22,694 | 21,532 | 21,913 | 21,399 | 22,565 | |
| Other business services | 46,421 | 45,883 | 48,000 | 47,057 | 48,562 | 47,464 | 48,752 | 44,755 | 45,452 | 40,927 | 39,918 | 42,589 | 42,238 | |
| Travel | 17,760 | 17,293 | 17,860 | 17,163 | 16,906 | 16,137 | 16,974 | 16,360 | 16,319 | 15,408 | 15,037 | 14,245 | 14,143 | |
| Transport | 9,262 | 8,899 | 8,676 | 9,302 | 8,492 | 8,062 | 8,012 | 7,579 | 8,033 | 7,941 | 8,395 | 7,830 | 8,216 | |
| Telecoms, computer and information services | 14,127 | 14,097 | 13,697 | 12,593 | 12,062 | 11,509 | 11,959 | 11,521 | 11,862 | 11,514 | 10,670 | 10,067 | 9,987 | |
| Intellectual property services | 10,505 | 11,018 | 10,831 | 10,960 | 10,477 | 9,140 | 10,688 | 10,105 | 9,571 | 8,645 | 6,348 | 6,234 | 6,210 | |
| Insurance and pension services | 8,609 | 8,418 | 8,143 | 7,913 | 7,725 | 7,655 | 7,292 | 7,159 | 6,977 | 6,932 | 6,549 | 6,769 | 6,790 | |
| Manufacturing and maintenance services | 1,516 | 1,421 | 1,528 | 1,406 | 1,420 | 1,419 | 1,388 | 1,361 | 1,347 | 1,383 | 1,579 | 1,620 | 1,694 | |
| Construction services | 832 | 827 | 813 | 744 | 731 | 729 | 643 | 574 | 693 | 806 | 921 | 825 | 915 | |
| Personal, cultural and recreational services | 3,493 | 3,498 | 3,234 | 2,946 | 2,396 | 2,728 | 2,103 | 2,091 | 2,219 | 2,330 | 2,040 | 1,695 | 1,922 | |
| Government services | 866 | 827 | 732 | 865 | 882 | 990 | 906 | 739 | 675 | 1,093 | 496 | 690 | 621 | |
| Imports of services by category11 | ||||||||||||||
| Financial services | 5,811 | 5,748 | 5,365 | 5,290 | 5,024 | 4,961 | 5,101 | 4,896 | 4,929 | 4,713 | 4,725 | 4,844 | 4,828 | |
| Other business services | 31,834 | 31,890 | 31,617 | 30,685 | 32,008 | 32,474 | 30,201 | 28,798 | 28,846 | 28,635 | 27,021 | 26,697 | 26,539 | |
| Travel | 21,375 | 21,552 | 21,560 | 20,982 | 20,930 | 20,961 | 21,081 | 20,241 | 19,505 | 19,945 | 21,727 | 19,710 | 20,291 | |
| Transport | 9,114 | 8,519 | 8,616 | 8,608 | 8,307 | 8,263 | 8,446 | 8,173 | 8,352 | 8,507 | 6,816 | 8,287 | 8,067 | |
| Telecoms, computer and information services | 5,292 | 5,490 | 4,858 | 4,608 | 4,395 | 4,445 | 4,807 | 4,307 | 4,501 | 4,391 | 4,052 | 3,889 | 3,854 | |
| Intellectual property services | 6,308 | 6,021 | 6,122 | 5,958 | 5,540 | 5,229 | 5,221 | 5,281 | 5,257 | 5,264 | 5,083 | 5,186 | 5,083 | |
| Insurance and pension services | 3,235 | 3,374 | 3,606 | 3,101 | 2,807 | 3,018 | 3,045 | 2,556 | 2,395 | 2,478 | 2,679 | 2,198 | 1,586 | |
| Manufacturing and maintenance services | 1,051 | 932 | 1,034 | 941 | 995 | 986 | 919 | 829 | 824 | 817 | 840 | 915 | 941 | |
| Construction services | 996 | 1,059 | 928 | 919 | 746 | 1,181 | 944 | 894 | 972 | 850 | 824 | 833 | 837 | |
| Personal, cultural and recreational services | 3,256 | 3,097 | 3,117 | 3,103 | 3,087 | 3,180 | 3,111 | 3,032 | 2,866 | 3,036 | 2,701 | 2,416 | 2,532 | |
| Government services | 762 | 771 | 744 | 749 | 722 | 649 | 600 | 529 | 566 | 512 | 862 | 813 | 866 | |
| Services trade balance by category11 | ||||||||||||||
| Financial services | 22,558 | 22,369 | 21,716 | 21,203 | 21,379 | 20,383 | 20,433 | 19,687 | 17,765 | 16,819 | 17,188 | 16,555 | 17,737 | |
| Other business services | 14,587 | 13,993 | 16,383 | 16,372 | 16,554 | 14,990 | 18,551 | 15,957 | 16,606 | 12,292 | 12,897 | 15,892 | 15,699 | |
| Travel | -3,615 | -4,259 | -3,700 | -3,819 | -4,024 | -4,824 | -4,107 | -3,881 | -3,186 | -4,537 | -6,690 | -5,465 | -6,148 | |
| Transport | 148 | 380 | 60 | 694 | 185 | -201 | -434 | -594 | -319 | -566 | 1,579 | -457 | 149 | |
| Telecoms, computer and information services | 8,835 | 8,607 | 8,839 | 7,985 | 7,667 | 7,064 | 7,152 | 7,214 | 7,361 | 7,123 | 6,618 | 6,178 | 6,133 | |
| Intellectual property services | 4,197 | 4,997 | 4,709 | 5,002 | 4,937 | 3,911 | 5,467 | 4,824 | 4,314 | 3,381 | 1,265 | 1,048 | 1,127 | |
| Insurance and pension services | 5,374 | 5,044 | 4,537 | 4,812 | 4,918 | 4,637 | 4,247 | 4,603 | 4,582 | 4,454 | 3,870 | 4,571 | 5,204 | |
| Manufacturing and maintenance services | 465 | 489 | 494 | 465 | 425 | 433 | 469 | 532 | 523 | 566 | 739 | 705 | 753 | |
| Construction services | -164 | -232 | -115 | -175 | -15 | -452 | -301 | -320 | -279 | -44 | 97 | -8 | 78 | |
| Personal, cultural and recreational services | 237 | 401 | 117 | -157 | -691 | -452 | -1,008 | -941 | -647 | -706 | -661 | -721 | -610 | |
| Government services | 104 | 56 | -12 | 116 | 160 | 341 | 306 | 210 | 109 | 581 | -366 | -123 | -245 |
Latest reading
Current account balance stood at -£22,134m in Q1 2026. That is +£5,044m from Q4 2025 and +£1,056m from a year earlier. The series on this page is quarterly and runs from Q1 1955 to Q1 2026. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS).
- Latest
- -£22,134m
- Q1 2026
- vs previous period
- +£5,044m
- Q4 2025
- vs a year earlier
- +£1,056m
About this data
The UK current account balance — the widest measure of the country's transactions with the rest of the world — shown in pounds and as a share of GDP, alongside total trade in goods and services, the goods balance broken down by SITC product group, and exports, imports and the balance of services by category. The UK has run a current account deficit every year since 1984, and it runs a large services surplus against a large goods deficit.
Frequently asked questions
- What does the UK current account measure?
- It measures the UK's overall net economic transactions with the rest of the world, covering cross-border trade in goods and services as well as investment income and transfers.
- Which service sectors are broken down in the balance of payments?
- The ONS provides quarterly exports, imports and balances across categories including financial services, business services, travel, transport, and intellectual property services.
- How often is the UK balance of payments released?
- The Office for National Statistics publishes UK balance of payments data quarterly, with headline current account series available continuously since 1955.
- Why is the current account balance compared to GDP?
- Presenting the UK current account deficit or surplus as a percentage of gross domestic product allows economists to evaluate external borrowing relative to the size of the national economy.
