UK trade deficit widens
- Trade deficit in goods and services worsened to £2.86Bn;
- Lowest exports total since September 2010;
- Drop was largely blamed on weaker sales to the US;
- Unite calls for ‘beefed up’ trade minister.
EXPORTS are suffering as the UK’s trade deficit widened alarmingly in February according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Now Britain’s largest union Unite is calling for a beefed-up role for a trade minister with a seat in the cabinet to coordinate and boost UK exports.
Our trade deficit in goods and services worsened to £2.86Bn from £1.54Bn in January, says the ONS.
The deficit in goods was £10.34Bn, up from £9.17Bn in January, which was partly offset by a surplus of £7.5Bn on services.
Goods exports were £23.16bn, the lowest total since September 2010 and that drop was largely blamed on weaker sales to the US.
For the three months to the end of February, the ONS said exports to the European Union were at their lowest since records began in 1998, leaving the EU goods deficit at a record high of £21.1Bn, owing particularly to a fall in oil exports.
UK trade figures show the extent of import and export activity. The figures could add to concerns that the UK economy remains too dependent on consumer spending, which accounts for more than 70% of economic activity.
