British trade deficit stays at 3.3bn pounds

British trade deficits in goods and services maintained largely unchanged between August and September at 3.3 billion pounds (5.3 billion U.S. dollars), official figures showed on Friday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the trade deficit for goods stood at 9.8 billion pounds, which is partly offset by an estimated surplus of 6.5 billion pounds on services. Of the total goods exports, exports to countries within the EU decreased by 300 million pounds to 12.6 billion pounds in September, while imports from the EU increased by 400 million pounds to 18.6 billion pounds, leading to a record deficit to 600 million pounds in overall trade in goods balance between Britain and the EU. The ONS said the main driver of the import hike came from the cars. Exports of goods in the third quarter of 2013 decreased by 3.5 percent to 75.7 billion pounds and were 0.1 percent lower than in the same quarter of 2012. Imports of goods increased by 1.0 percent to stand at 104.8 billion pounds and were 2.5 percent higher year on year. Exports in services in September were estimated to have been 16.6 billion pounds and imports 10.1 billion pounds. Total service exports were 49.6 billion pounds in the third quarter and total imports were 30.2 billion pounds, posing a surplus of 19.3 billion pounds. "September's trade figures show that the UK economy continues to see an imbalance between domestic and overseas demand," British economic research institution Capital Economics said in a statement commenting on the trade figures. It said that British trade performance over a longer period remained disappointing. "However, the fact that the recovery is being led by the consumer suggests that it won't be long before import demand begins to accelerate. So even if exports pick up, the trade deficit may narrow only slowly over the next year," it said.