ONS chief economist Joe Grice comments on today’s trade and production figures
Joe said: “Today’s trade figures show a marked decline in goods exports in July, driven by a fall in exports of chemicals and manufactured goods, also reflected in today’s manufacturing output figures. As a result, the balance has a bigger deficit than in recent months, but is still broadly in line with where it was earlier this year and last summer.
“The biggest single factor in the fall in manufacturing output was motor vehicle production, with the summer shut-downs appearing to start earlier than usual, along with anecdotal evidence showing a slowdown in exports. There has also been a fallback in the manufacture of weapons, following a big rise in June.”
