UK deficit narrows

Date: 12th January 2010

The deficit on trade in goods and services supplied in the UK dropped to below £3 billion in November last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Figures from the latest ONS report revealed that the deficit was £2.9 billion for the month.

This represented a drop from the revised figure of £3.1 billion recorded for October 2009.

According to the data, export volume, not including oil and 'erratic items', increased by 0.2 per cent, while imports decreased by 0.9 per cent.

At the same time, import prices were found to have reduced by 0.6 per cent and export prices by 0.4 per cent.


Overall, the figures meant that trade on services had remained unchanged between the two months at £3.9 billion.

The automotive industry was found to be more buoyant than other sectors as it was the only industry not to report a fall in the import of goods.