trade deficit - now we're importing oil!
WORKERS, OCT 2004 ISSUE
For the first time since 1991, Britain has become a net importer of oil: the net deficit for July was £61 million. July's spend on oil from abroad, £694 million, was an all-time record.
Our surplus in oil fell from £6.5 billion in 2000 to £4.1 billion last year, and could be less than £2 billion this year, due to a lack of significant new discoveries. Britain's great good fortune of North Sea oil is drying up, squandered by the greed of capitalist governments. Their decision to smash our coal industry looks ever more vicious and anti-British.
The record oil imports contributed to July's record level of all imports - £20.8 billion, the highest since figures were first collected 300 years ago. Our deficit on trade in manufactured goods was £5.2 billion, up from June's £5.1 billion. The overall trade deficit was £3.7 billion, up from £3.4 billion.