North East England Chamber of Commerce comment on trade statistics
Trade statistics released today highlight the challenges UK exporters have faced and continue to face in 2020, as Britain’s short-lived trade surplus ended. In September 2020, UK imports increased by £3.6bn to £49.2bn while exports flatlined at £48.5bn – a monthly deficit of £600m. This 8.0% increase in imports can likely be sourced to an increase in demand as we continued to live in loosened COVID-19 restrictions. The statistics for November 2020, when released, will likely show a dip in imports but not quite as drastic as we saw over summer.
