Why the UK’s trade deficit makes household bills so vulnerable to global shocks

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The UK’s trade deficit of goods is the widest it has ever been. In 2025, the country spent £248.3 billion more on things than it sold to the rest of the world.

This is not just some abstract number, of interest only to markets and economists. The UK’s trade deficit has practical consequences which help to explain why global events show up so quickly in people’s food and energy bills.

Nor is this a new situation. While the UK runs a strong surplus in...