Investing.com - The U.K.’s current account deficit narrowed less than expected in the in the first three months of the year, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the U.K.’s National Statistics Office said that the U.K. current account recorded a seasonally adjusted deficit of £26.5 billion in the first quarter, narrowing from a deficit of £28.9 billion in the fourth quarter, whose figure was revised from a deficit of £25.3 billion.
Economists had expected the current account deficit to narrow to £23.8 billion in the first quarter.
The deficit in the first quarter equated to 5.8% of gross domestic product, down from 6.4% in the preceding quarter.
The narrowing of the current account deficit was due to a narrowing in the deficit on the secondary income account and the primary income account, partially offset by a widening in the deficit on the trade account.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5730 from around 1.5718 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7097 from 0.7106 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained lower. London’s FTSE 100 shed 1%, the EURO STOXX 50 lost 1%, France's CAC 40 dropped 1.2%, while Germany's DAX slumped 1.1%.