UK trade: February 2026

• The value of goods imports increased by £2.3 billion (4.7%) in February 2026, with a rise in imports from both EU and non-EU countries.

• The value of goods exports fell by £0.5 billion (1.5%) in February 2026, with falls in exports to both EU and non-EU countries.

• Exports of goods to the United States, rose by £0.5 billion (11.3%) in February 2026, while imports of goods fell by £0.4 billion (8.2%).

• The total goods and services trade deficit narrowed by £0.3 billion to £2.8 billion in the three months to February 2026 compared with the three months to November 2025.

• The trade in goods deficit widened by £1.0 billion to £57.1 billion in the three months to February 2026, while the trade in services surplus is estimated to have widened by £1.3 billion to £54.2 billion.

Total imports of goods in "current prices", which are not adjusted for inflation (as explained in Section 11: Glossary), increased by £2.3 billion (4.7%) in February 2026, when compared with January 2026. The increase was because of a £1.7 billion (7.5%) rise in imports from non-EU countries and a £0.6 billion (2.3%) rise in imports from the EU (Table 1 and Figure 1).

Total exports of goods decreased by £0.5 billion (1.5%) in February 2026, because of a £0.4 billion (2.3%) fall in exports to non-EU countries and a £0.1 billion (0.7%) decrease in exports to the EU.

Imports from the EU were £2.3 billion higher than from non-EU countries in February 2026. Exports to the EU were £0.7 billion lower than to non-EU countries.

Figure 1: Imports from both EU and non-EU countries increased in February 2026

EU and non-EU goods imports and exports, excluding precious metals, current prices, seasonally adjusted, February 2023 to February 2026

After removing the effect of inflation by calculating "chained volume measures" (as explained in Section 11: Glossary), total goods imports increased by £2.0 billion (3.9%) in February 2026 (Figure 2). This was because of a £1.6 billion (6.4%) rise in imports from non-EU countries and a £0.4 billion (1.5%) rise in imports from the EU.

Total goods exports decreased by £0.8 billion (2.6%) in February 2026, after the effect of inflation was removed. This was because exports to non-EU countries fell by £0.4 billion (2.6%) and exports to the EU also fell by £0.4 billion (2.6%).

Figure 2: Imports of goods to EU and non-EU countries rose in both value and inflation-adjusted terms in February 2026

Imports and exports of goods, excluding precious metals, current prices and chained volume measures, seasonally adjusted, EU and non-EU, February 2023 to February 2026

Exports of goods to the United States rose by £0.5 billion (11.3%) in February 2026 (Figure 3). The rise in exports was mainly because of a £0.5 billion increase in exports of machinery and transport equipment, and a £0.2 billion rise in exports of material manufactures (excluding precious metals). The increases were partially offset by a £0.2 billion fall in chemical exports. The rise in machinery and transport equipment exports was because of increased exports of cars and mechanical power generators (intermediate). The value of goods exports to the United States have remained relatively low since the introduction of trade tariffs in April 2025.

Imports of goods from the United States decreased by £0.4 billion (8.2%) in February 2026. The decrease was because of a £0.4 billion fall in imports of machinery and transport equipment because of reduced imports of aircraft. This was partially offset by a £0.1 billion rise in fuel imports because of higher imports of gas.

Monthly data can be erratic and therefore may not be indicative of longer-term trends.

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. We will look at the goods the UK traded with the United States in 2025, in the context of trade tariffs, in our upcoming UK trade with the United States: Impact of tariffs on imports and exports of goods article publishing on 1 May 2026.

Figure 3: Goods exports to the United States rose, while goods imports fell, in February 2026

Goods imports from and exports to the United States, excluding precious metals, current prices, non-seasonally adjusted, February 2024 to February 2026

Silver, platinum and palladium bullion are components of precious metals and form part of the "material manufactures" commodity group. Trade in precious metals can be large and highly volatile, distorting underlying trends in trade in goods. We have added a "Material manufactures, excluding precious metals" series to our UK trade: goods and services publication tables dataset and have used this series for the analysis in this section.

More detail on the allocation of precious metals is provided in Section 12: Data sources and quality.

Goods imports

Imports from the EU increased by £0.6 billion (2.3%) in February 2026. This was mainly because of a £0.4 billion rise in chemical imports linked to higher imports of inorganic chemicals from the Netherlands and France, and increased imports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products from Germany (Figure 4).

Imports from non-EU countries rose by £1.7 billion (7.5%) in February 2026. This rise was because of a £0.8 billion increase in imports of machinery and transport equipment, £0.3 billion rises in imports of both miscellaneous manufactures and chemicals and a £0.2 billion increase in fuel imports. The rise in imports of machinery and transport equipment was primarily because of increased imports of cars from China. The increase in imports of miscellaneous manufactures was linked to higher imports of other manufactures (consumer) from China and the rise in chemical imports was linked to increased imports of inorganic chemicals from Japan.

Figure 4: Imports of machinery and transport equipment from non-EU countries rose in February 2026

Changes in EU and non-EU goods imports by commodity group, excluding unspecified goods, current prices, seasonally adjusted, February 2026 compared with January 2026

Notes: 

1. Material manufactures presented in this chart exclude silver, platinum, and palladium bullion bars as these are components of precious metals. Trade in precious metals can be large and highly volatile, distorting underlying trends in trade in goods.

2. The monthly commodity changes may not sum to the total trade in the goods monthly change because of rounding.

Goods exports

Exports to the EU decreased by £0.1 billion (0.7%) in February 2026 because of small falls across several commodities (Figure 5).

Exports to non-EU countries decreased by £0.4 billion (2.3%) in February 2026. This decrease was because of a £0.3 billion fall in chemical exports, and £0.2 billion decreases in exports of both machinery and transport equipment and miscellaneous manufactures. These falls were partially offset by small increases in other commodities. The fall in exports of chemicals was because of reduced exports of inorganic chemicals to the United States. The decrease in exports of machinery and transport equipment was because of lower exports of mechanical power generators (intermediate) to China and Singapore.

Figure 5: Exports of chemicals to non-EU countries fell in February 2026

Changes in EU and non-EU goods exports by commodity group, excluding unspecified goods, current prices, seasonally adjusted, February 2026 compared with January 2026

Notes: 

1. Material manufactures presented in this chart exclude silver, platinum, and palladium bullion bars as these are components of precious metals. Trade in precious metals can be large and highly volatile, distorting underlying trends in trade in goods. 

2. The monthly commodity changes may not sum to the total trade in the goods monthly change because of rounding.

Early estimates suggest that imports of services increased by £0.2 billion (0.6%) in value terms in February 2026 when compared with January 2026. Exports of services also increased by £0.1 billion (0.3%) (Figure 6). There was little difference between trade in services trends in value and inflation-adjusted terms.

Monthly figures for trade in services for February 2026 are forecast from estimated Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 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. More detail on how our trade in services statistics are compiled is in our UK trade quality and methods guide.

The S&P Global UK Services Purchasing Manager's Index (PDF, 130KB) for February 2026 reported continued growth in the UK services sector, however, this growth was driven by stronger domestic demand, rather than by exports. New work from abroad was "close to stalling" in February, with businesses surveyed citing concerns about subdued economic conditions across Europe. Those businesses which reported growth in export sales often noted new business gains in the United States and emerging markets. Business expectations remained upbeat overall in February, with businesses mentioning new product development, business diversification strategies and long-term investment plans.

Figure 6: Services imports and exports rose in both value and inflation-adjusted terms in February 2026

Imports and exports of services, current prices and chained volume measures, seasonally adjusted, February 2023 to February 2026

Notes:

1. Monthly figures for trade in services for February 2026 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.

Total imports of goods increased by £2.0 billion (1.3%) in the three months to February 2026, compared with the three months to November 2025 (Table 2). The increase was mainly because goods imports from non-EU countries rose by £1.7 billion (2.4%), while goods imports from the EU rose by £0.3 billion (0.4%).

Total exports of goods increased by £1.0 billion (1.0%) in the three months to February 2026. This rise was because goods exports to the EU increased by £1.1 billion (2.5%), partially offset by a £0.1 billion (0.3%) fall in goods exports to non-EU countries.

For trade in services in the three months to February 2026, we forecast International Trade in Services (ITIS) survey figures using time series data. This forecast is combined with additional data sources, to estimate trade in services totals. Early estimates indicate that imports of services increased by around £0.3 billion (0.3%) and exports of services rose by an estimated £1.6 billion (1.2%) in the three months to February 2026, compared with the three months to November 2025.

The total goods and services trade deficit, excluding precious metals, narrowed by £0.3 billion to £2.8 billion in the three months to February 2026, compared with the three months to November 2025 (Figure 7). Exports rose by £2.6 billion and imports also rose by £2.3 billion over this period. When removing the effect of inflation, the total trade deficit, excluding precious metals, narrowed by £0.6 billion to £12.6 billion.

The trade in goods deficit in value terms, excluding precious metals, widened by £1.0 billion to £57.1 billion in the three months to February 2026, compared with the three months to November 2025. This is because goods imports increased by more than exports. The trade in services surplus is estimated to have widened by £1.3 billion to £54.2 billion, as exports of services increased more than imports.

Explore the 2025 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, 4.4MB) and do not represent the UK policy on disputed territories.

You can also explore the 2025 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, 4.4MB) and does not represent the UK policy on disputed territories.

In accordance with our National Accounts Revisions Policy, the data in this release have been revised from January 2024 for both goods and services.

Trade in goods revisions

The largest impacts of trade in goods revisions were in Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2025 and Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2025, when the trade in goods balance saw upward revisions of £2.4 billion and £4.5 billion respectively (Figure 8). The commodities that were the largest contributors to these revisions were:

• fuels

• machinery and transport equipment

• material manufactures

• unspecified goods

The revisions to fuel exports were mainly because of revised merchanting data, which resulted from replacing initial estimates with actual data responses from the International Trade in Services (ITIS) survey. This affected the period from Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2024 to Quarter 4 2025. Merchanting data represent the purchases and sales of goods that are purchased for the direct purpose of resale, and which remain outside of the UK – see our UK trade quality and methods guide for more detail.

The revisions to machinery and transport equipment exports and imports were mainly because of a processing error that affected our estimates of ship transactions during 2024 and 2025. This processing error has now been resolved, and we have reviewed how this data source feeds into our systems and improved this part of our processing. Estimates were corrected back to Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2025 in our UK trade: December 2025 bulletin, and in line with the National Accounts Revisions Policy, estimates for the period Quarter 1 2024 to Quarter 4 2024 have been corrected in this release.

The revisions to material manufactures exports and imports were because of the removal of double counting of some precious metals. This double counting occurred because some data on non-monetary gold and other precious metals from the Bank of England (BoE) were also included within data we received from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). We removed double counting back to Quarter 1 2025 in our UK trade: December 2025 bulletin, and in line with the National Accounts Revisions Policy, estimates for the period Quarter 1 2024 to Quarter 4 2024 have been revised in this release.

The revision in unspecified goods imports have occurred as part of our methodology to smooth the non-monetary gold data received from the BoE. Our data smoothing methodology involves spreading the reported value for a month across adjacent months (before and after) in order to ensure individual responses are not disclosed. Revisions to Quarter 4 2025 occur because of the incorporation of data for January and February 2026 into our precious metals data processing. For more information on precious metals in UK trade statistics, see our UK trade quality and methods guide.

Figure 8: The largest impacts of trade in goods revisions were in Quarter 3 2025 and Quarter 4 2025

Trade in goods revisions, current prices, seasonally adjusted, quarterly, Quarter 1 2024 to Quarter 4 2025

Notes

1. Q1 refers to Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar), Q2 refers to Quarter 2 (Apr to June), Q3 refers to Quarter 3 (July to Sept) and Q4 refers to Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec).
2. "All other commodities" includes food and live animals, beverages and tobaccos, crude materials, animals and vegetable oils and fats, chemicals, and miscellaneous manufactures.

Trade in services revisions

The largest impacts of trade in services revisions were in Quarter 4 2025, when the trade in services balance saw a downward revision of £0.9 billion (Figure 9). The service types that were the largest contributors to these revisions were:

• other business services

• travel services

• financial services

• transport services

• telecoms, computer and information services

The revisions to other business services exports and imports were mainly the result of gross domestic product (GDP) balancing, whereby the output, income and expenditure estimates of GDP are aligned (balanced) to produce our headline measure of GDP. More detail on GDP balancing can be found in our GDP quarterly national accounts, UK: October to December 2025 bulletin.

The revisions to travel services exports and imports were mainly as a result of using additional indicator data to improve our estimates. Travel services data have been forecast since Quarter 3 2024 following the International Passenger Survey (IPS) transformation. We have analysed these estimates using data from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as an indicator and have applied adjustments to bring our estimates of travel services more in line with CAA data.

The revisions to most other service types result from updated data from a range of surveys. These revisions are largely seen in the latest quarter, Quarter 4 2025, as updated survey data are now available to replace forecast initial estimates with actual data responses. With the addition of latest Quarter 4 2025 data, the seasonal adjustment has also updated, resulting in revisions back to Quarter 1 2024. Financial services has received revised data from Financial Intermediation Services Indirectly Measured (FISIM) and Financial Services Survey (FSS) from Quarter 1 2024 to Quarter 4 2025. Updated ITIS survey data feed into the revisions across a range of service types including:

• financial services

• telecoms, computer and information services

• intellectual property services

Figure 9: The largest impacts of trade in services revisions were in Quarter 4 2025

Trade in services revisions, current prices, seasonally adjusted, quarterly, Quarter 1 2024 to Quarter 4 2025

Notes

1. Q1 refers to Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar), Q2 refers to Quarter 2 (Apr to June), Q3 refers to Quarter 3 (July to Sept) and Q4 refers to Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec).
2. "All other service types" includes manufacturing and maintenance, construction, insurance and pension, intellectual property, personal cultural and recreational, and government services.

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.

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 may not be indicative of longer term trends.

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 methods guide 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.

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 quality and methods guide.

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.

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 quality and methods guide.