Investing.com - The U.K.’s current account deficit narrowed less than expected in the in the final three months of 2014, 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 £25.3 billion in the fourth quarter, narrowing from a deficit of £27.7 billion in the third quarter, whose figure was revised from a deficit of £27.0 billion.
Economists had expected the current account deficit to narrow to £21.5 billion in the fourth quarter.
The narrowing of the current account deficit was mainly due to a narrowing in the deficit on the trade account, partially offset by a widening in the deficit on the secondary income account.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.4774 from around 1.4771 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7276 from 0.7272 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained mixed. London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.25%, the EURO STOXX 50 tacked on 0.2%, France's CAC 40 added 0.1%, while Germany's DAX inched up 0.2%.