The UK’s deficit on trade in goods and services was estimated to have been £2.5bn in June this year, in comparison to £2.4bn in the previous month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which released its statistical bulletin for UK Trade in June 2014 on Friday.
ONS is responsible for collecting and publishing statistics related to the UK’s economy, population and society at national, regional and local level. Its seasonally adjusted UK Trade report shows the extent of import and export activity and is a key contributor to the overall economic growth in the UK.
According to the ONS figures, there was a deficit of £9.4bn on goods in June 2014, which was partly offset by an estimated surplus of £7.0bn on services. Compared with May 2014, the trade in goods deficit widened by £0.3bn.
Exports of goods dropped by £0.4bn to £23.5bn during June 2014, which reflected decreases in oil and manufactured goods. Imports of goods also fell and were down by £0.1bn, to £32.9bn. The fall reflected decreases in imports of oil and aircraft. Both falls were attributed to a decrease in trade with countries outside of the European Union (EU); however they were offset by other increases in manufactured goods.
The June 2014 deficit of trade in goods and services was £2.5bn, compared with £2.4bn in May 2014. Reflecting exports minus imports, the deficit on trade in goods was £9.4bn in June this year.
Between May and June 2014, exports of goods fell by 1.6% to £23.5bn. This reflected a £0.2bn drop in exports of fuels, with oil exports falling by £0.1bn. There was a £0.2bn decrease in semi manufactured goods and a £0.2bn fall in exports of finished manufactures, which included a combination of aircraft and ships decreasing by £0.2bn.
In the same period, imports of goods fell by 0.4% to £32.9bn, reflecting a £0.4bn drop in imports of fuels. In particular, oil imports decreased by £0.3bn. On the whole, imports of manufactured goods increased by £0.1bn in June 2014, but significant individual falls included imports of aircraft, which decreased by £0.6bn, while imports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products dropped by £0.3bn. However increases elsewhere offset these decreases, such as a £0.2bn increase in imports of cars and a £0.1bn rise in silver.
UK exports of goods to the European Union (EU) in June 2014 stayed at £12.0bn, while a £0.3bn drop in exports of fuels was partly offset by a similar increase in exports of manufactured goods. Goods imported from the EU increased by £0.5bn to £17.6bn. Exports of goods to countries outside of the EU decreased by £0.4bn to £11.5bn during June 2014, while imports from countries outside of the EU fell by £0.6bn to £15.3bn.
The ONS added that the UK deficit on trade in goods between the first and second quarter of 2014 increased by £0.9bn to £27.4bn. The second quarter of 2014 saw exports of goods drop by £0.5bn to £71.3bn, reflecting a decrease in exports of oil. During the quarter, imports of goods rose by £0.4bn to £98.7bn, reflecting increases in imports of ships, cars and medicinal & pharmaceutical products.