Oil moves UK trade deficit higher

Oil imports were greater than exports during July

The UK's worldwide trade gap widened in July, as it ran up a monthly deficit on its oil balance for the first time in more than a decade.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the deficit widened to £5.16bn in July, its highest since January.

The figure was up on the upwardly- revised figure of £5.06bn for June.

A drop in North Sea oil production saw the UK import more oil than it exported for the first time since August 1991.

The UK posted an oil deficit of £61m in July from a revised £61m surplus in June.

"Since an oil surplus is something we are going to have to live without, we need to start compensating for diminishing oil output by improving the non-oil account - not much sign of that happening yet," said Geoffrey Dicks, UK economist at RBS Financial Markets.

The trade deficit with the European Union (EU) was unchanged at £2.4bn in July. And the gap with non-EU countries was also unchanged at £2.7bn.