UK construction output slumps in August,
lower imports help trade gap
Send a link to a friend
[October 10, 2014]
LONDON (Reuters) - British
construction fell sharply in August, adding to signs of a slowdown in
other areas of the economy, official figures showed on Friday.
|
Separate figures showed Britain's goods trade deficit narrowed in
August as imports fell more sharply than exports.
Construction output slid a monthly 3.9 percent in August after
rising an upwardly revised 1.9 percent in July, the Office for
National Statistics said.
That meant output in the sector was 0.3 percent lower than in August
last year for the first year-on-year fall since May 2013, the ONS
said.
Data earlier this week showed industrial production was flat in
August compared with July, adding to signs that Britain's pace of
recovery may have slowed in the third quarter from growth of 0.9
percent in the second quarter.
Friday's figures contrast with a Markit purchasing managers' survey
last week which showed that the construction sector grew at one of
the fastest rates on record in September.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2014/Oct/10/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
Britain's deficit in its trade in goods narrowed in August to 9.099
billion pounds from a revised 10.414 billion pounds in July, which
was the biggest on record.
August's deficit was the narrowest since April, the ONS also said on
Friday.
Economists in a Reuters poll had forecast a gap of 9.6 billion
pounds.
Including Britain's surplus in its trade in services, the overall
trade deficit narrowed to 1.917 billion pounds from 3.079 billion
pounds in July.
Volumes of goods exports fell 2.3 percent while imports were down
6.2 percent, largely due to erratic goods as well as chemicals and
oil, the ONS said.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/ads/current/demay_inv-lda081412.png)
A sharp slowdown in growth in the euro zone economies, Britain's
main trading partners, has added to the challenge of boosting the
country's exporters and putting the country's economic recovery on a
sounder footing.
Exports by Germany suffered their biggest slump in August since the
financial crisis, data showed on Thursday, raising concerns about
the risk of a new recession in the single currency area.
British goods exports to the European Union by 0.6 percent in August
from July to their lowest level since February. Imports from the EU
fell by 1.2 percent.
(Reporting by William Schomberg and Li-mei Hoang)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2014/Oct/10/images/ads/current/ccaonline_lda050208.png) |