UK current account deficit near record high at £22.4bn

The UK's current account deficit was larger than expected in the final quarter of last year, official figures have shown.

The deficit in the three months to December was £22.4bn, only marginally lower than the all-time high of £22.8bn recorded in the previous quarter.

Economists had expected the UK's deficit to narrow to about £14bn in the final three months of the year.

One analyst described the deficit as "worryingly large".

The current account deficit for the year was £71.1bn, equal to 4.4% of UK GDP and slightly lower than the highest current account deficit of 4.6% of GDP recorded in 1989, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The UK's trade deficit with the rest of the world - the difference between the value of goods and services the country imports versus what it exports - narrowed to £5.7bn in the fourth quarter from £10bn three months earlier, the ONS said.

The fall in the trade deficit was partly attributed to Britain's dominant service sector - which accounts for nearly 80% of UK economic growth - which recorded a surplus in the quarter of £1.4bn.

The UK's trade deficit in goods also narrowed by £3bn. But this was the result of falling imports rather than any increase in exports.

Imports fell by £3.4bn in the period, the ONS said. Imports of oil, semi-manufactured goods and finished manufactured goods fell by £1.4bn, £1bn and £0.9bn respectively.

The value of UK exports fell by £0.4bn.