The UK’s goods trade deficit with the rest of the world unexpectedly widened to its biggest since August 2008 in January.
Exports saw their sharpest drop in more than three years, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The UK’s trade gap in physical goods widened to £7.99bn ($12bn), well above the £7bn forecast by economists.
The news was disappointing, especially since the weak pound might have been expected to boost sales abroad.
The UK’s currency has fallen by some 24% against a basket of world currencies since early 2007 – before the global economic crisis.
The exports have to be back for UK to get some amount of normalcy.
