Trade gap widens but recession fears ease The trade in goods deficit widened to £7.5bn from £7.2bn in January, as higher imports of oil were largely behind a 2.6pc rise in imports, outpacing a 2pc rise in total exports. However, it was not as large as the £7.9bn deficit forecast by economists, who said there was some good news behind the headline figures, with exports to non-EU countries rising by £500m to a record £12.9bn. Higher exports of cars to the US, Russia and China largely drove the increase. Nida Ali, economic adviser to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, said: "Looking through the monthly volatility, the trade balance has held up reasonably well in a tough economic environment. A firm increase in the volume of exports suggests that net trade is set to contribute positively to growth once again in the first quarter of 2012. The increase in exports to non-EU countries in January is encouraging, and we hope to see this trend continue in the months ahead. We have repeatedly highlighted the need for UK exporters to move away from their traditional trading partners and tap into faster-growing emerging nations and there are some encouraging signs that this is starting to happen. Exports to EU countries fell slightly by £100m to £13.1bn, reflecting weak demand from the troubled eurozone, while imports to the region rose by £200m to £17bn. While the goods deficit widened overall in January, Britain's net trade position has been better than expected in recent months, and should help the UK economy avoid a technical recession of two successive quarters of contraction in the first quarter. The economy shrank by 0.2pc in the fourth quarter of 2011.