UK Trade Deficit Narrows Due to Rising Exports

Britain’s trade deficit narrowed in June, adding to a run of strong economic figures that show the UK economy recovering at its fastest rate since 2010.

Exports of goods in the second quarter of 2013 reached £78.4bn, the highest on record, spurred by a jump in sales to the US and China. Exports to non-EU countries have overtaken those within the EU, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Trade in cars and machine parts to France and the Netherlands also improved in June, reducing the overall deficit in goods and services to £1.5bn from £2.6bn in May.

Official figures released on Friday showed a rebound in construction activity in the second quarter of the year, adding to the recent optimism surrounding the UK’s economic prospects.

The services sector has been growing since the middle of last year and manufacturing output rose 1.9% quarter-on-quarter in June, with all parts of the sector – spanning carmakers to food-manufacturers – increasing their monthly output for the first time in more than 20 years.

via The Guardian

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza