British trade deficit widens to 1.6 bln pounds in June

British deficit on trade in goods and services was estimated to have been 1.6 billion pounds (or 2.5 billion U.S. dollars) in June 2015, compared with the previous month's 0.9 billion pounds, data showed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Friday.

Britain registered a 9.2 billion pounds deficit on goods trade, and an estimated surplus of 7.6 billion pounds on services in June, data showed.

Exports of goods shrank by 0.3 billion pounds to 24.9 billion pounds in June, mainly reflecting a 0.5 billion pounds fall in exports of unspecified goods. Imports of goods increased by 0.5 billion pounds to 34.1 billion pounds over the same period, attributed to a 0.2 billion pounds in fuels and a cumulative rise in imports and almost all other commodities, noted ONS.

In the second quarter of 2015, British deficit on trade in goods and services was estimated to have been 4.8 billion pounds; narrowing by 2.7 billion pounds from the first quarter of 2015, data showed.

Ruth Miller, UK Economist at Capital Economics, said in a note that "the widening of the UK trade deficit in June is likely to be the start of a further deterioration in the coming months."

"Fundamentally, the stronger pound and weakness of demand in the euro-zone could lead to a further widening in the trade deficit. Accordingly, the recovery is likely to remain domestic-led for the foreseeable future," he added. (1 pound = 1.55 U.S. dollars) Endit