The UK’s goods trade deficit with the rest of the world narrowed in October, driven by a sharp drop in European imports and a rebound in exports to the rest of the world, official data showed on Tuesday.

The Office for National Statistics said the deficit on trade in goods fell from September’s record high of £8bn to £7.1bn in October, a smaller gap than the £7.4bn analysts had expected. The latest estimate of the trend suggested that the value of both exports and imports was relatively flat, the ONS said.