UK trade balance widens in July

Britain’s total trade balance widened in July, figures released on Wednesday showed.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK’s balance on trade in goods and services widened by £2.6bn from June to £3.4bn in July, driven by an increase to the trade in goods, where the deficit widened from £8.5bn in June to £11.1bn in July.

Exports fell by £2.3bn to £22.8bn, the lowest export figure since September 2010, while imports grew by £0.3m to £33.9m over the same period.

In the quarter to the end of July, the UK’s deficit on trade in goods and services was £4.7bn, £4.1bn narrower than compared to the previous quarter.

Over the same period, the trade in goods deficit narrowed by £3.8bn to £27.8bn, as exports rose £1.2bn to £73.2bn and imports decreased £2.6bn to £101bn.

The fall was driven by a £2.5bn decline in imports from countries outside the European Union, the lowest quarterly figure for imports from countries outside the EU since June 2010.

Meanwhile, in the quarter to July, the trade in services surplus widened £0.3bn to £23bn, with exports registering a £0.1bn increase and imports falling £0.1bn over the same period.