UK exports to EU fall by 11% in year

UK EXPORTS tumbled over the summer and sales of British goods to the European Union are more than 11pc lower than a year ago.

The Office for National Statistics said British firms exported £70.7bn of goods between July and September, down 0.5pc from the second quarter and 7.2pc from the third quarter last year. The pound tumbled to a 14-month low against the US dollar, to around $1.58, amid signs the recovery is slowing.

Sales to the EU, the UK’s biggest market, totalled £35.6bn – down a whopping 11.2pc on a year earlier.

Exports to the rest of the world rose 0.3pc between July and September to £35.1bn but were 2.7pc lower than in the same period last year. Britain’s trade deficit with the rest of the world widened to £29bn in the third quarter, from £28.1bn in the second.

The figures are a blow to efforts to ‘rebalance’ the economy away from household spending to exports. But, in a tentative sign things may improve, exports rose 4.2pc, or £1bn, to £24bn between August and September with sales to the EU up 0.9pc and those to the rest of the world up 7.8pc. THE rouble swung wildly yesterday after the Russian central bank said it could act ‘at any moment’ to prop up the troubled currency.

It was down 3pc against the US dollar in early trading but bounced back to stand 2pc higher on hopes Moscow will step in amid fears over the ailing Russian economy’s health.

The Central Bank of Russia said the fluctuations posed ‘a risk to financial stability’. Higher interest rates in Russia, which would support the currency, will also hit growth at a time when the economy is under pressure.