In April, the UK visible trade balance showed a bigger narrowing in the deficit than expected. The trade deficit fell from an upwardly revised L7.708 billion to L7.389 bil-lion, while the consensus was looking for a deficit of L7.549B. The details are some-what disappointing as exports rose only by 0.1%, while imports dropped by 0.9%. Excluding oil and erratics, the trade deficit narrowed from L7.321B to L6.983. The UK trade deficit is now at its lowest level in almost one year, but exports rose only marginally, raising fears that exports will not be able to carry the recovery in the coming quarters.