Maintenance work in the North Sea kept the Britain's trade position firmly in the red in October, with the deficit on trade in goods estimated at £4.4 billion sterling, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) said this morning.
This may be a slight improvement on the downwardly revised £4.7 billion goods deficit the previous month. The initial trade in goods deficit estimate for September was £4.8 billion sterling.
The ONS noted that the reason behind the swelling deficit this month remains the weak trade position relating to oil, following extended maintenance work in the North Sea, and a production problem in an oil refinery.
The ONS noted that for the second successive month Britain has recorded a very small oil surplus; normally, Britain posts a substantial surplus on oil. Last October, the oil surplus stood at £486 million.
In October, Britain posted a £97 million oil surplus against a £56 million surplus the previous month.
In addition, the ONS said that a turnaround in the balance of erratic items contributed 137 per cent to the change in deficit, with imports of aircraft outweighing exports.
Including services, the British trade deficit narrowed to £3.47 billion in October, from a revised £3.65 billion gap in September.
AFP