Gap between imports and exports hit £14bn in three months to September

Government hopes that economic recovery will be spearheaded by manufacturing and exports took a dent today as official figures showed the UK running a record trade deficit in the three months to September.

Data from the Office for National Statistics revealed that the gap between exports and imports in the third quarter widened to more than £14bn – despite the boost provided by a weak pound.

The ONS said the trade gap in goods alone edged above £25bn for the first time between July and September, but was offset by a healthy surplus in trade in services.

In September, the ONS recorded a slight improvement in the UK’s trade performance. Imports into Britain of £30.6bn topped exports of £22.4bn by £8.2bn, slightly below the £8.5bn shortfall recorded for August. A £3.6bn surplus in services meant the overall trade gap narrowed from £4.9bn to £4.6bn.

Separate ONS figures showed that the output of UK factories rose by 0.1% in September – slightly below City expectations and the weakest performance since April.

Over the three months to September – considered a better guide to the underlying trend – manufacturing output was up by 1% and was 5.3% higher than in the three months to September 2009.

Industrial production – which includes output from mining, North Sea installations and the energy sector – rose by 0.4% between August and September, in line with market forecasts.

Hetal Mehta, UK economist at Daiwa Capital Markets, said: “With manufacturing output growth slowing it seems the recovery is beginning to falter. The manufacturing sector will struggle to contribute much to GDP growth unless global demand and exports pick up strongly, which is looking highly unlikely in the near term.”

Business: Manufacturing sector | guardian.co.uk