UK Trade Deficit Widens to £3.0 Billion
Economics / UK Economy Jun 11, 2009 - 09:16 PM GMTBy: ONS
The UK’s deficit on trade in goods and services was £3.0 billion in April, compared with the deficit of £2.7 billion in March (originally published as a deficit of £2.5 billion).
The surplus on trade in services was £4.0 billion, compared with a surplus of £3.8 billion in March.
The deficit on trade in goods was £7.0 billion, compared with the deficit of £6.5 billion in March (originally published as a deficit of £6.6 billion). Exports rose by £0.1 billion, while imports rose by £0.7 billion.
The deficit with EU countries was £2.9 billion in April, compared with a deficit of £3.1 billion in March. Exports rose by £0.4 billion but imports rose by £0.1 billion. There was a rise in exports of chemicals.
The deficit with non-EU countries widened to £4.1 billion compared with the deficit of £3.4 billion in March. Exports fell by £0.3 billion and imports rose by £0.5 billion. There was a rise in exports of oil, offset by a fall in exports of capital goods. There were rises in imports of consumer goods other than cars, and aircraft. There was a fall in imports of oil.
Excluding oil and erratic items, the volumes of exports and imports were both three per cent higher in April than in March.
Export prices fell by two per cent compared with March, and import prices fell by one per cent.
Notes:
'Originally published' figures relate to routine revisions which are part of the normal compilation process for trade data.
Missing Trader Intra-community (MTIC) VAT fraud, also known as 'carousel fraud', involves the repeated import and export of small, high value goods such as computer chips and mobile phones. Companies obtain VAT registration to acquire goods from other Member States without paying VAT. They then sell on the goods at VAT inclusive prices. But the VAT that their customers have already paid is not handed over to the tax authorities.
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