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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elroy Jetson who wrote (77498)	4/10/2008 5:19:27 AM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Respond to of 116555

UK Feb Goods Trade Deficit Narrows To GBP7.5B (Adds table) By Nicholas Winning and Joe Parkinson Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--The U.K. global goods deficit narrowed to GBP7.5 billion in February from an upwardly revised GBP7.9 billion in January, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday. The result was in line with market expectations in a Dow Jones Newswires survey of economists last week. January's figure was revised from a deficit of GBP7.5 billion reported last month. In February, total exports of goods fell marginally to GBP20.5 billion, while total imports fell 1.5% to GBP28.0 billion. The ONS said the key factor in the narrowing of the deficit was a move in the balance of trade in oil to a surplus of less than GBP0.1 billion in February, the first surplus since April 2006, from a deficit of GBP0.5 billion in January. It said the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee had seen the data in advance of their interest rate decision due at 1100 GMT. However, the figures are unlikely to affect market expectations that the MPC will cut its benchmark lending rate to 5.00% from 5.25%. The U.K.'s surplus in trade in services grew to GBP3.0 billion in February from GBP2.9 billion in January. The U.K.'s total trade deficit shrank to GBP4.4 billion in February from GBP5.0 billion in the previous month. The goods trade deficit with non-European Union countries narrowed to GBP4.0 billion from GBP4.3 billion in January, it said. Economists had forecast a non-E.U. trade deficit of GBP4.2 billion. Meanwhile, the goods trade deficit with E.U. countries shrank to GBP3.5 billion in February from GBP3.7 billion in the previous month. The following tables give details of the trade balance during February: World Trade In Goods and Services In Billions of Pounds (Seasonally Adjusted) Feb Jan Total Trade Balance -4.4 -5.0r Services Balance +3.0 +2.9r Services Imports +8.6 +8.7r Services Exports +11.6 +11.6r Goods Balance -7.5 -7.9r Goods Imports +28.0 +28.5r Goods Exports +20.5 +20.5r r=revised Goods Trade Balance In Millions of Pounds (Seasonally Adjusted) Feb Jan E.U. -3,464 -3,650r EMU -2,597 -2,771r Switzerland -157 -69r U.S. +864 +765r Japan -327 -299r China -1,326 -1,234r Hong Kong -383 -198r South Korea -110 -100r -By Nicholas Winning and Joe Parkinson, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 20 7842 9498; nick.winning@dowjones.com