UK trade gap rises

London, United Kingdom (4E) – The United Kingdom saw its trade deficit widen in April to its second largest gap on record.

A decline in auto and chemical exports boosted the trade deficit to $6.9 billion from $4.7 billion in March, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Along with being the UK’s second-biggest global-goods trade deficit, it was the largest ever trade gap with the European Union.

The UK saw exports fall by 8.6 percent overall and by 6.8 percent to other European Union nations.

Although the UK had expected car exports to the eurozone to fall, it was expecting exports to other regions of the world to offset those losses. Therefore, it was particularly hard hit by falling car exports everywhere outside the eurozone, but the drop in auto exports to the United States, China and Russia was most damaging.

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