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"The massive reduction in the UK's trade deficit in October will certainly bring some Christmas cheer to the City and government"
- Kah Chye Tan, head of trade and working capital at Barclays Corporate
U.K. trade deficit narrowed by biggest amount in more than a decade to ВЈ7.6 billion in October from ВЈ10.2 billion in September, said the Office for National Statistics on Friday. Economists expected the reading to improve to ВЈ9.5 billion.
"The massive reduction in the UK's trade deficit in October will certainly bring some Christmas cheer to the City and government, but this may be short-lived as the UK's key export markets struggle, with the eurozone staggering on without conclusive political action while the US and other developed economies begin to feel the knock-on effects," said Kah Chye Tan, head of trade and working capital at Barclays Corporate.
"October's much improved performance followed a sharp deterioration in September, which highlights the major volatility that can occur month to month in trade data," said Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight.