Euro woes increase UK trade deficit
The UK’s trade deficit remains volatile as the latest data from the Office of National Statistics shows another rise in figures.
The UK’s deficit on seasonally adjusted trade in goods and services was £2.6bn in November compared with the deficit of £1.9bn in October.
Excluding oil and erratic items, the seasonally adjusted volume of exports in November was 1.7% lower than October, while the volume of imports was 1.1% higher.
Tan Kah Chye, head of trade and working capital, at Barclays says: “The UK deficit remains volatile, and any glimmer of economic hope seen in the US is currently being countered by the banking squeeze across the eurozone.”
“Never has it been more important for UK exporters to look beyond Europe to the promised land of emerging markets. With India, China, and Sub-Saharan Africa all expected to see GDP growth of at least 5% over the next two years, the contrast with the UK’s traditional export markets remains stark.”
Export prices of goods fell by 0.4% and import prices fell 0.2%, from October.
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