UK Trade - October 2024

15th December 2024

The value of goods imports increased by £2.6 billion (5.8%) in October 2024, with both EU and non-EU imports rising.
The value of goods exports fell slightly by £0.1 billion (0.4%) in October 2024, with a fall in exports to non-EU countries largely offset by a rise in exports to the EU.

Exports to the EU were higher than to non-EU countries for the first time since November 2023.

The total goods and services trade deficit narrowed by £0.9 billion to £10.1 billion in the three months to October 2024, because of a larger fall in imports than exports.

The trade in goods deficit narrowed by £1.8 billion to £51.4 billion in the three months to October 2024, while the trade in services surplus is estimated to have narrowed by £1.0 billion to £41.3 billion.

Monthly trade in goods
The value of total imports of goods in "current prices", which are not adjusted for inflation (as explained in Section 9: Glossary), rose by £2.6 billion (5.8%) in October 2024. Imports from non-EU countries increased by £1.4 billion (6.9%), while imports from the EU increased by £1.2 billion (5.0%) (Table 1 and Figure 1).

Total exports of goods fell slightly by £0.1 billion (0.4%) in October 2024, as a £0.7 billion (4.6%) fall in exports to non-EU countries was mostly offset by a £0.6 billion (4.1%) rise in exports to the EU.

Imports from the EU were £4.4 billion higher than from non-EU countries in October 2024, while exports to the EU were £0.1 billion higher than exports to non-EU countries.

Goods imports
The value of imports from the EU increased by £1.2 billion (5.0%) in October 2024. This was because of a £0.5 billion rise in imports of machinery and transport equipment and a £0.3 billion rise in fuel imports (Figure 3). The rise in imports of machinery and transport equipment was driven by increased imports of aircraft from Germany and cars from Spain. The rise in fuel imports was because of increased imports of refined oil from the Netherlands.

The value of imports from non-EU countries increased by £1.4 billion (6.9%) in October 2024. This was because of a £0.7 billion rise in imports of machinery and transport equipment, and a £0.3 billion rise in miscellaneous manufactures imports. Increased imports of electrical machinery from China was the main driver of the rise in machinery and transport equipment, while the rise in miscellaneous manufactures was mainly because of increased imports of clothing from Bangladesh.

Goods exports
The value of exports to the EU increased by £0.6 billion (4.1%) in October 2024. Exports of miscellaneous manufactures, chemicals, fuels and machinery and transport equipment all rose by £0.1 billion, with small changes across multiple countries and commodities (Figure 4).

The value of exports to non-EU countries decreased by £0.7 billion (4.6%) in October 2024, because of £0.4 billion falls in both material manufactures and fuel exports and a £0.2 billion fall in exports of machinery and transport equipment. The decrease in fuels was because of reduced exports of crude oil to the United States, while reduced exports of aircraft to Switzerland contributed to the fall in machinery and transport equipment.

Monthly trade in services
Early estimates suggest imports of services decreased by £1.7 billion (6.3%) in value terms in October 2024, while exports of services increased by around £0.7 billion (1.8%) (Figure 5). After removing the effect of inflation, imports of services decreased by £0.5 billion (2.0%) while exports of services increased by £0.9 billion (2.5%).

Monthly figures for trade in services for October 2024 are forecast from Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2024 data, using additional data sources. Our UK Trade Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) report has more detail on how our trade in services statistics are compiled.

The S&P Global UK Services PMI reported continued service sector growth in October, although the rate of growth was slower than previous months. While improving domestic economic conditions helped to boost overall business activity in October, heightened business uncertainty ahead of the Autumn Budget and geopolitical tensions caused growth to slow. However, October data indicated a rise in new work for export sales, with stronger demand from EU clients cited as a strong driver of this growth. Input cost inflation rose in the period, however this still remains below the levels seen in the first half of 2024.

Read the full ONS article with many links to more