UK trade deficit bigger than forecast in August
The UK trade deficit in August grew more than expected, data released on Friday showed.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the deficit hit £11.1bn compared with forecast calling for a £9.9bn figure.
The UK’s deficit on trade in goods and services declined from £4.5bn in July to £3.3bn in August, while exports of goods rose by £0.8bn to £23.6bn, driven higher by a £0.6bn increase in car exports to a record £2.4bn.
Meanwhile, imports declined £0.3bn to £34.7bn over the same period.
The report added that in the three months to August 2015, the UK’s deficit on trade in goods and services totalled £8.1bn, widening by £1.3bn when compared with the previous quarter.
The combined trade deficit of the first two months of the third quarter of this year is already double the total trade deficit of the second quarter.
In the three months to August 2015 the trade in goods deficit widened by £1.8bn to £31.4bn, as exports decreased by £1.5bn to £72.4bn and imports increased by £0.3bn to £103.8bn.
The ONS attributed the decline in exports for the quarter to August 2015 to a £2.1bn decrease in non-EU exports, which, however, was partially offset by an increase in exports to the EU of £0.6bn.