Ananova:

Britain's goods trade deficit with the rest of the world stretched to £8.3bn in November, its widest margin since records began more than 300 years ago.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggested the weaker sterling has failed to boost exports, apparently dashing Bank of England hopes that this could be a positive to draw from the pound's demise.

As the overall goods gap jumped almost £1bn between October and November, the deficit in trade to non-European Union countries also hit a record, swelling to £5.3bn from £4.4bn.

Announcing its rate cut to 1.5% last week, the Bank of England said it hoped the weaker pound would help support British exports during the global downturn, rebalancing the economy away from its dependence on domestic consumption.

But the ONS figures give little evidence to support this.

Total exports of goods fell by 6% in November, while imports fell by just 2%.

A fall-off in exports to the US, down £645m, made up around half of the overall fall in exports.

The ONS estimated the UK's surplus on trade in services fell in the three months to the end of November, down to £11.4bn from £11.7bn.

The overall deficit on trade in goods and services - a combination that the ONS says gives a fairer reflection of the UK's performance - was estimated to have widened in November to £4.5bn from a gap of £3.9bn in October.