The deficit - the difference between the amount imported and exported
- was £3.2bn in November, down from £3.5bn from October, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The ONS put the narrowing deficit down to a £0.5bn fall in imports of oil during the month, to £2.2bn.
The three-month figures also showed a narrowing in the trade deficit.
The deficit for the three months to November was £7.7bn, down £1.0bn from the previous quarter.
"Overall,
a shocking October result means that, despite the improvement in
November, net trade will probably subtract from GDP growth in Q4 again,
although by less than in Q3," said Scott Bowman, UK economist at Capital
Economics.
"That said, the recent fallback in the oil price
should help to improve the trade balance, all else equal, given that the
UK is a net importer of oil."
