British trade gap widens

Britain's trade deficit with the rest of the world has grown more sharply than expected.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in March, the deficit for trade in goods was £3bn.

Part of the reason was that exports to fellow European Union countries fell by 2.5% while imports climbed by 1.5%.

There were lower exports of oil and of consumer goods other than cars.

But the overall deficit was £2.3bn. That is because there was a surplus on trade in services of £0.7bn.

John Butler, an economist at HSBC, said: "Once again we are left with disappointing data but evidence in the surveys that good news is just around the corner."

Mr Butler said one bright spot was an increase in exports to North America, given the importance of the US economy.