UK November trade balance data 11 Jan
- -GBP 9.885bln prev rev down from -9.711bln
- trade balance -£4.167bln vs -3.5bln exp vs -1.547bln rev up from -1.971bln prev
- trade balance non-EU -£3.577 bln vs -3.0bln exp vs -2.116bln rev down from-1.598bln prev
Worsening trade balance proving that the weaker pound does little to improve a net importer's account.
A record increase in imports, and that's expensive whether you're an importer or exporter ( the latter ships in raw materials in many cases to produce the finished article before shipping out)
The 3-month figure though sees the all important services sector coming to the rescue a tad:
- Between the 3 months to August 2016 and the 3 months to November 2016, the total trade deficit for goods and services narrowed by £0.4 billion to £11.0 billion, with exports increasing more than imports.
- The 3-monthly narrowing of the deficit is attributed to an increase of the trade in services surplus, with the deficit in trade in goods widening slightly as the value of goods imported increased more than the value of goods exported.
The headline data sends GBP pairs lower despite better mftg/ind production data. GBPUSD 1.2120 EURGBP 0.8690 with pound buyers lurking again but I remain a seller.
Full ONS report here
