Increase In UK Trade But Deficit Goes Up

The UK trade balance deficit increased from £3.1bn in April to £4.1bn in May due to a larger increase in imports than exports which also increased in May. The deficit on trade in goods was £8.5bn in May compared with £7.6bn in April and the surplus on trade in services was £4.4bn in May compared with £4.5bn in the previous month. Both the volume of exports and the volume of imports increased in May. Export volume increased by 1.9% and import volume by 6%. Prices of exports fell by 1.7% and the prices of imports fell by 0.4% which meant a decrease in the terms of trade.

World Trade Report Calls For Natural Resource Trade Co-operation

The World Trade Report from the WTO says natural resources trade is creating many challenges for importing and exporting countries and co-operation by governments is required if they are to be addressed adequately.

The focus of the report is natural resources such as fuels, forestry, mining and fisheries and it examines the trade characteristics of natural resource markets, policy choices and international co-operation for proper management with particular reference to WTO.

Key elements of the report include the distinctive features of natural resource markets, gains from resources trade, externalities, technology effects on sustainability, high volatility, trade policy and trade regulation in natural resources.

The natural resources market total world trade value in 2008 was $3.7 trillion, equivalent to 24% of world merchandise trade. Fuels accounted for 57% in 1998 and 77% in 2008, fish and forestry each accounted for 3% and mining 18%. The top 15 exporters accounted for 52% of world resources trade in 2008 and top 15 importers 71% of traded resources.

Fall In Prices At Factory Gate In August

The 'factory gate' or output producer prices annual inflation for all manufactured goods for consumer sales fell 0.4% in August. These are the prices manufacturers sell their goods. Input price annual inflation, the price at which they buy their materials, fell 7.5% in August compared with 12.2% in July. Month on month output prices actually rose 0.2% in August and input prices rose 2.2%. The output index that leaves out the more volatile sectors like food, beverages, tobacco and petrol rose 0.7%. These index numbers reflect an increase in the price of crude oil and other imported materials of 1.6%.