UK Trade Gap Narrows In October

The gap between imports and exports of goods narrowed in October, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS said the goods trade deficit narrowed to £9.7bn, compared with £10.1bn in September.

Including services, in which the UK traditionally has a surplus, the overall trade deficit was unchanged from September at £2.6bn.

Separate ONS data brought positive news from the manufacturing sector.

The ONS said the UK Index of production, one of the key components of gross domestic product, grew by 0.4% in the month, in line with forecasts. Compared with October 2012 it was up 3.2%.

The manufacturing of transport equipment was the biggest force behind the increase.

The rise marks a slowdown from the 0.9% rise in September when production bounced back from a weak August, the ONS said.

via BBC

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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