Balance of payments deficit shrinks

There was some improvement in Britain’s trading position with the rest of the world, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

The current account deficit contracted to £13.0 billion in the second quarter of the year from the revised deficit of £21.8 billion in the first quarter.

The deficit on trade in goods narrowed to £25.3 billion compared with £26.2 billion the previous quarter. Exports rose by £2.5 billion, while imports rose by only £1.6 billion.

The main differences between the second and first quarters were that the deficit in semi-manufactured goods narrowed to £2.0 billion from £4.4 billion, offset by a widening in the deficit on oil to £3.1 billion from £1.3 billion.

The trade in services surplus was £19.8 billion in the second quarter, a decrease of £0.1 billion on the previous quarter. Exports were unchanged at £49.6 billion and imports increased by £0.1 billion to £29.7 billion.

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_328126.pdf