UK Importers Badly Affected By 'Brexit' Vote & Sterling Uncertainty
- Doron Cohen, CEO at Covercy
- 09.09.2016 10:00 am undisclosed
Today’s figures show how starkly importers in the UK were affected by the vote to leave the EU. They clearly scaled back their activities significantly in July due to a huge depreciation in the value of sterling, with the currency hitting a 31 year low against the dollar and a 10% drop in trade-weighted value after the vote to leave. Despite a 13% increase year on year for imports in Britain, it is quite clear that the UK’s importers were dealt a huge blow due to the uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote in July.
Meanwhile for exporters, the figures are quite positive. July is traditionally quite a quiet month, however, due to such decreases in the value of sterling, it became much cheaper to do business. This meant, despite a minor decrease, exports actually held up quite well, despite it being off-peak season.
