Our whopping trade deficit!
International trade statistics always come with a health warning atatched to them - the data on the value of exports and imports is frequently subject to future revisions. That said, the ONS released figures today showing that the UK economy ran a current account deficit for the year 2007 of £57.8 billion (-4.2 per cent of GDP), compared with a deficit of £50.7 billion in 2006 (-3.9 per cent of GDP). The rise in the annual deficit was mainly due to a higher deficit on trade in goods and a lower surplus on investment income. A deficit of £46.6 billion was recorded with the EU in the 2007,
compared with a deficit of £39.0 billion in 2006. The deficit on trade in goods was £87.6 billion in 2007, a rise of £10.1 billion compared with 2006. The surplus for trade in services was £38.5 billion in 2007, a rise of £7.4 billion compared with 2006. You can download the data here
I have produced a chart summary of some of the key stats which might be useful when revising the current account with students.
PowerPoint
UK_BoP_2007.ppt
