The difference between exports and imports of British goods and services. The Trade Balance is one of the biggest components of the United Kingdom 's Balance of Payment, thus giving valuable insight into pressures on the value of the Pound.

A positive Balance of Trade figure (surplus) indicates that exports are greater than imports. When imports exceed exports, the UK experiences a trade deficit. Because foreign goods must be purchased using foreign currency, trade deficits fundamentally reflects that the Sterling is leaking out of the country. Such currency outflows may lead to a natural depreciation of a Pound, unless countered by similar capital inflows. At a bare minimum, deficits will weigh down the value of the currency.

There are a number of factors that work to diminish the market impact of UK Trade Balance. First, the report is not very timely, released within forty days after the reporting period. In addition, developments in many of the Trade Balance's components are typically well anticipated. Lastly, since the report reflects data for a specific reporting month, any significant changes in the Trade Balance should plausibly have been already felt during that month and not during the release of data. However, because of the overall significance of Trade Balance data, the release has historically remains one of the more important reports out of Britain .

The headline figure for trade balance is typically expressed in billions of Pounds and usually accompanied by a year-on-year percentage change figure.

Relevance: Tends to move markets on release
Release schedule : 8:30 (GMT); monthly, within 40 days following the report month
Revisions schedule : There can sometimes be large revisions due to adjustments for fraud and customs reporting processes
Source of report : Office of National Statistics
Web Address : http://www.statistics.gov.uk/
Address of release : http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nscl.asp?id=5821
AKA : Balance of Trade, International Trade in Goods and Services, Balance on Goods and Services