UK Trade Deficit Hits USD28.1B in April
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the total value of goods imports climbed by £0.8 billion, or 1.5%, compared with March, reaching £54.1 billion over the month.
The uptick was largely fuelled by a £1.1 billion, or 4%, jump in imports sourced from the European Union, which was partially counterbalanced by a £0.3 billion, or 1.2%, contraction in purchases from non-EU trading partners.
On the export side, goods shipments also gained ground, rising by £0.8 billion, or 2.6%, to reach £33.1 billion in April, with outbound trade to both EU and non-EU destinations each advancing by £0.4 billion over the period.
EU imports totalled £29 billion for the month, running £3.9 billion ahead of purchases from non-EU countries. Exports to both trading blocs were broadly evenly matched, with EU-bound shipments at £16.6 billion and non-EU exports at £16.5 billion.
The ONS attributed the increase in EU imports primarily to a £600 million rise in fuel purchases, driven in particular by higher volumes of refined oil flowing in from the Netherlands.
Imports of machinery and transport equipment from EU member states rose by a further £300 million, while chemical imports added another £200 million to the overall EU import bill.
The fall in non-EU imports was traced largely to a pullback in energy purchases, encompassing reduced natural gas volumes from Norway and the United States, as well as lower refined oil arrivals from Kuwait, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates — a trend the ONS suggested may be connected to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Turning to exports bound for the EU, the increase was driven primarily by a £400 million rise in machinery and transport equipment shipments, underpinned by stronger sales of mechanical power generators and aircraft to Germany.
Outbound shipments to non-EU markets also expanded, with machinery and transport equipment again leading the charge — up £400 million — boosted by exports of mechanical power generators to the United Arab Emirates.
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