Britain’s trade gap remained alarmingly high in November after exports fell to their lowest value since July.
Official figures showed the deficit in goods and services narrowed to £3.2bn compared with £3.5bn in the previous month, but this was only after a drop in oil imports and a £2.4bn fall in the value of “unspecified goods”, mainly gold, brought into the country.
The persistently high level of the UK trade deficit leaves George Osborne with a headache and will likely renew calls for further action to boost exports.
The chancellor warned on Thursday about a “dangerous cocktail” of economic risks which meant 2016 was likely to be one of the toughest years since the financial crisis.
