Investing.com - The U.K.’s goods trade deficit narrowed to a three-month low in December, as imports fell sharply, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said the country's goods trade deficit fell to a seasonally adjusted £9.92 billion from a deficit of £11.50 billion in November. Economists had expected the goods trade deficit to narrow to £10.4 billion in December.
The trade in goods narrowing was mainly the result of a fall in the import of goods of £1.7 billion to £33.0 billion, mainly reflecting a fall in imports of unspecified goods, which decreased by £1.0 billion to £0.4 billion.
U.K. trade data shows the extent of import and export activity, a key contributor to the overall economic growth of the U.K.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.4437 from around 1.4432 ahead of the announcement, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7740 from 0.7744 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mixed. London’s FTSE 100 tacked on 0.55%, the EURO STOXX 50 inched up 0.1%, France's CAC 40 shed 0.2%, while Germany's DAX dipped 0.15%.