THE UK’s global goods trade deficit widened last year to the worst on record, providing further evidence of the unbalanced nature of the economic recovery.
Figures published by the Office for National Statistics showed the UK racked up a global goods trade deficit of £32.7 billion in the fourth quarter. This was even worse than the deficit of £31.8bn in the three months to September.
UK goods exports fell by about £500m during the fourth quarter. Imports of goods to the UK rose by around £400m.
The UK’s global goods trade deficit for 2015 as a whole came in at £125bn, a deterioration from the figure of £123.1bn for 2014. The figures show UK goods exports in 2015, at £285.6bn, were down by £8.1bn on the previous year. Imports fell by £6.2bn to £410.7bn.
The trade figures are in stark contrast to Chancellor George Osborne’s March 2011 Budget vision of “a Britain carried aloft by the march of the makers”.
Trades Union Congress General Secretary Frances O’Grady called for greater UK Government support for strategic industries in the wake of news of the UK’s record goods trade deficit in 2015.
Ms O’Grady said: “Another poor set of trade and export figures is no surprise given how little the Government is doing for industry…
“Without greater Government support for strategic industries, and higher investment in skills and infrastructure, manufacturing and exports will continue to underperform.”
Paul Hollingswoth, UK economist at consultancy Capital Economics, said: “December’s trade figures provide further evidence that the UK’s economic
recovery remained reliant on the domestic services sector in Q4 2015. While we
think fears of a sharp global slowdown are overdone, progress in reducing the trade deficit is likely to be very slow.”
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