Britain swung to a record deficit in goods and services trade of £2.153 billion sterling in April due to falling surplus in services and a worsening deficit in goods trade, official data showed today.
National Statistics said Britain suffered a global goods trade deficit of £2.9 billion, up from £2.8 billion the month before.
On a three-monthly basis, the total trade deficit widened to £5.6 billion, the worst since the third quarter of 1989.
On a three-monthly basis for global goods trade, there was a deficit of £7.9 billion, which - as with last month - was the worst since records began in 1697.
Britain has been suffering the double blow of a strong currency and a slowdown in world trade volumes due to the economic woes in the United States and Japan. It has therefore been running large goods trade deficits for some years now.
But NS said the trade deficit with countries outside the European Union narrowed to £2.29 billion in May, from £2.73 billion in April. That was better than analysts had forecast.
