THE UK's trade deficit narrowed in December, latest figures have shown. Seasonally adjusted figures from the Office for National Statistics show the deficit was estimated to have been £1bn, compared to £3.6bn in November 2013.
The ONS figures show a deficit of £7.7bn on goods, partly offset by an estimated surplus of £6.7bn on services.
It said the narrowing of the total trade deficit reflected both an increase in exports (2.1%) and a fall in imports (3.8%). By commodity, the strongest exports were in oil, chemicals and aircraft. The largest falls in imports were in aircraft and ships.
The goods deficit in countries outside the EU has narrowed in each of the last six months. Since July 2013 exports to countries outside the EU have increased 9.3% and imports have decreased 9.6%.
Elsewhere, production output rose by 0.5% between Q3 2013 and Q4 2013. The preliminary estimate of GDP, published last month, contained a forecasted rise of 0.7% for production in Q4 2013.
The ONS said the latest estimates was that production rose by 0.5% between Q3 2013 and Q4 2013 but the impact on the previously published Q4 2013 GDP estimate was less than 0.05%.
By far the largest contribution to the quarterly growth in production came from manufacturing, which increased by 0.7%.
Looking at the broader picture, it said total production output was 1.8% higher in December 2013 compared with December 2012; reflecting a 1.5% rise in manufacturing; 2.6% rise in mining & quarrying; 7.9% rise in water supply, sewerage & waste management; and 3% fall in electricity, gas, steam & air conditioning.
Production and manufacturing rose by 0.4% and 0.3% respectively between November 2013 and December 2013.
The main manufacturing sectors contributing to the rise between November 2013 and December 2013 were; the manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products & pharmaceutical preparations; the manufacture of coke & refined petroleum products; and the manufacture of food products, beverages & tobacco.
Richard Halstead, Midlands Region Director at EEF, the manufacturers' organisation, said: "Manufacturers had a strong finish to 2013, but more encouraging, are the indicators we've seen since the start of the year which suggest that positive trend has rolled into the early part of 2014.
"Our expectation is that we see another quarter of 0.6% expansion in the three months to March, with a pretty even picture across sectors.
"The business surveys have been pointing to a decent picked up in the home market, but the trade data today shows the export story has yet to follow. However, with more confidence that export demand will gather pace through the course of this year, we should expect the official data to follow suit."
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