UK current account deficit widens to 3.0% of GDP in 2025
The deficit grew slightly to £91.6 billion from a revised £84.3 billion in 2024, as a wider goods trade gap outweighed a larger services surplus, the Office for National Statistics said.
AI illustrationThe UK's current account deficit widened slightly to £91.6 billion in 2025, or 3.0% of gross domestic product (GDP), from a revised deficit of £84.3 billion (2.9% of GDP) in 2024, the Office for National Statistics said.
The statistics office said the UK recorded the second largest current account deficit of the G7 economies in 2025. The US had the largest deficit in the G7, at 3.8% of GDP, while Japan recorded the highest current account surplus, at 4.8% of its GDP, supported by a large primary income surplus from its holdings of foreign assets.
The trade balance, including trade in precious metals, widened to a deficit of £39.5 billion, or 1.3% of GDP, from a deficit of £21.1 billion (0.7% of GDP) in 2024. The trade in goods deficit widened to 7.7% of GDP (£234.3 billion) from 6.8% of GDP (£198.0 billion), largely because of a £17.8 billion widening of the deficit in commodities and transactions not classified according to kind, a category dominated by precious metals. The finished manufactured goods deficit increased by £12.2 billion to £113.1 billion. The oil deficit decreased by £3.4 billion to £15.0 billion, reflecting lower oil prices over the year, while the UK remained a net importer of oil.
Total goods imports increased by £31.5 billion over the year to £624.7 billion, while exports of goods decreased by £4.7 billion to £390.4 billion.
The trade in services surplus widened from 6.1% of GDP (£176.9 billion) in 2024 to 6.4% of GDP (£194.8 billion) in 2025. Exports of services increased from £487.2 billion to £522.8 billion, with the largest increases in financial services (£8.4 billion) and telecommunication, computer and information services (£7.5 billion).
The primary income deficit narrowed from £45.5 billion (1.6% of GDP) in 2024 to £35.3 billion (1.2% of GDP) in 2025, because of an increase in net earnings on direct investment, which rose from £25.2 billion to £40.1 billion. The secondary income deficit was unchanged at 0.6% of GDP.
The financial account recorded a net inflow of £85.6 billion (2.8% of GDP) in 2025. The UK's net international investment liability position was £60.7 billion (2.0% of GDP) at the end of 2025, compared with a revised £40.9 billion (1.4% of GDP) at the end of 2024. The rate of return on foreign investment in the UK fell to 3.7% and the rate of return on investment abroad fell to 3.4%, as interest rates in the UK and abroad reduced.
The statistics office said data for all periods have been open to revisions, with revisions to the current account balance because of methods improvements and updated trade and foreign direct investment survey data.