The UK's deficit on trade in goods reached its highest level since May 2006 in March, official data has revealed.
According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) the country's overspend on goods was £7 billion in March, compared to the upwardly revised figure of £6.9 billion in the preceding month.
Britain's surplus on services meanwhile stood at £2.5 billion in the third month of the year, giving an overall deficit of £4.5 billion, £0.2 billion ahead of February's total.
"The latest estimate of the trend suggests that the whole world goods deficit is fairly flat," the ONS said.
"The trends in the value of trade show both exports and imports falling in recent months," a spokesperson added.
More specifically, Britain's deficit with the enlarged EU including Bulgaria and Romania widened to £3.1 billion in March, while the overspend on trade with non-EU countries narrowed to £4 billion.
Digg 
Delicious 
Reddit 
StumbleUpon 
Google 
Technorati 
Netvouz