By Jonathan Davies
The UK's trade deficit fell to £1.2 billion in April, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
April's figure compares with a £3.1bn deficit in March.
The ONS figures show that there was an £8.6bn deficit on goods, meaning UK businesses are spending £8.6bn more on bringing goods into the country than is being recouped from imports.
But that deficit was largely offset by an estimated £7.4bn surplus in the trade of services.
Lowering the trade deficit and boosting exports is seen by many as a key way to rebalance the UK economy to support growth.
During the previous Parliament, the Chancellor George Osborne set a target of doubling the value of UK exports from £500 million to £1bn by 2020.
