Trade statistics for September show that the UK’s deficit on trade in goods and services was £1.4 billion in September. Published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the figure represents a narrowing of £1.6 billion from August 2015.
The ONS attributes the reduction to an increased trade in goods, with exports increasing by £0.6 billion to £24 billion in September. Imports of goods fell by £0.9 billion to £33.3 billion over the same period.
Overall, the deficit in trade in goods fell from £10.8 billion in August to £9.4 billion in September.
Despite the fall in September, overall figures for the last quarter (Q3) reveal a deficit on trade in goods and services of £8.5 billion. That represents a widening of the deficit by £5.1 billion compared with Q2.
For the trade in goods, the difference between the two quarters (April to June and July to September) was attributed to a £6 billion decrease in exports to £70.1 billion, and a £0.1 billion fall in imports to £102.3 billion.
Trade in services registered an increase in the deficit between Q2 and Q3 of £0.8 billion (hitting £23.6 billion), due to a fall in imports of 2.4%.
Commenting on September’s figures, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Chief Economist, David Kern, said the quarterly picture was disappointing and confirmed the BCC’s assessment that the improvement recorded in Q2 was only temporary.
The UK needs a national strategy to help exporters, he added.
Details of the UK Trade statistics for September 2015 are available on the ONS website.
