Trade gap widens but Q1 figure strong

BRITAIN'S goods trade gap with the rest of the world widened more than expected in March, but figures yesterday showed that the deficit for the whole of the first quarter fell to its lowest level since 2009.

In a mixed picture for the UK economy, official statistics showed that the goods trade gap jumped to 7.66 billion in March from just under 7bn in the previous month - greater than the 7.25bn forecast by economists. But despite the relatively poor March performance, the total first-quarter deficit - which also includes services - was the smallest seen since Q4 of 2009, falling to 9.3bn from the record 13.7bn hit during the closing three months of last year.

Citi economist Michael Saunders said the improved Q1 figure reflected a slight drop in imports after the surge at the end of 2010 to beat January's VAT hike.

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However, exporters are also making considerable progress, he said, with the volume of goods shipped abroad up 18.9 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2010 - the highest growth for 30 years.

But the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) called the figures "disappointing" as they pointed to a slowdown in recent months and showed a large increase in the deficit with non-European Union countries.

David Kern, chief economist at the BCC, said: "Our exporters need a stronger presence in fast-growing markets outside Europe such as China, India and Brazil."