UK: 3.8% fall in exports over imports
09/01/2004 - 10:42:55The UK trade deficit in goods widened to 3.8% in November to a seasonally-adjusted £4.41bn (€3.46bn) from the previous month, the office of National Statistics said today.
This trade deficit is larger than expected.The consensus forecast of economists was for the deficit to widen to approximately £4.1bn (€3.21bn).
A £270m (€211.8m) decline in oil exports led the fall in UK exports over imports in November.
Higher imports of cars and goods such as computer chips and car components also helped widen the gap between exports and imports.
A breakdown showed that exports to the US fell by nearly 10% in the month despite the rapid growth in the US economy, raising fears that a weaker dollar is affecting British exports.
