International trade UK trade deficit grows as oil price rise pushes up cost of fuel imports December figures ‘pretty poor’ given weakness of pound since Brexit vote, City analysts says An increase in fuel imports and lower levels of fuel exports were the main culprit in pushing up the trade deficit. While there was an increase in goods export volumes, it came at less than half the pace of imports. They are also likely to disappoint ministers seeking to expand trade with the rest of the world as Britain leaves the EU. The increase in the trade deficit came amid an increase in imports from non-EU countries at a faster rate than exports. Threadneedle Street reckons the speed limit of the economy has slowed since the Brexit vote, meaning much lower growth rates are still likely to cause rising inflation.

Source: The Guardian February 09, 2018 14:29 UTC