By Marcus Leach
Data released by the Office for National Statistics today (Wednesday) has shown that the UK trade deficit on goods widened to a record high in September as imports of chemicals and oil increased and exports barely rose.
This coincided with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) cutting its growth forecast as the debt crisis in Europe continues to take its toll.
Highlights:
- The UK’s deficit on seasonally adjusted trade in goods and services was £3.9 billion in September compared with the deficit of £2.7 billion in August.
- The deficit on seasonally adjusted trade in goods was £9.8 billion in September, compared with the deficit of £8.6 billion in August.
- The surplus on seasonally adjusted trade in services was estimated at £5.9 billion in September, unchanged compared with August.
- Excluding oil and erratic items, the seasonally adjusted volume of exports was 1.6 per cent lower, but the volume of imports was 1.6 per cent higher in September, compared with August.
- Export prices of goods rose by 2.1 per cent and import prices of goods rose by 1.3 per cent, compared with August.
Join us on
Follow @freshbusiness
