Britain's trade gap widens as imports rise

Britain's trade deficit widened more than expected in February as imports rose and exports outside the European Union fell, official data showed on Thursday. Analysts said the data showed strong domestic consumption was continuing to suck in imports while exporters were being hampered by the strength of the pound.
The Office for National Statistics said Britain's goods trade gap widened to 6.8 billion pounds in February from a revised 6.4 billion pounds in January. Economists had forecast a deficit of 6.5 billion pounds.
The trade gap with non-EU countries widened to just over 4 billion pounds, also more than expected, while the gap with EU countries grew to its largest since June 2006. Strong growth in the eurozone helped Britain's export performance in that region but a strong rise in imports meant the overall trade gap widened to 2.7 billion pounds, an eight-month high.
Total exports of goods fell to 18.4 billion pounds in February while total goods imports rose to 25.2 billion. Within that, exports to non-EU countries fell 2 percent while exports to EU countries edged up 0.5 percent.