By Jason Douglas and David Hodari

LONDON--The U.K.'s trade deficit narrowed in October, official data showed Friday, with exports hitting a record monthly high.

The Office for National Statistics cautioned, however, that there is "limited evidence so far" that exports are benefiting from a sharp fall in the pound since the U.K.'s June vote to leave the European Union.

The ONS said the U.K.'s deficit in goods trade narrowed to GBP9.7 billion ($ 12.2 billion) in October from a revised GBP13.8 billion in September. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had been expecting a deficit of GBP12 billion.

Including services, the deficit narrowed in October to GBP2 billion. The shrinking of the deficit was fueled by a jump in exports, with exports of goods and services reaching a monthly record of GBP46.4 billion in October.

Goods exports to non-EU countries hit a new high of GBP14.4 billion, while exports of goods to the EU, the country's largest trading partner, rose to GBP12.4 billion, the ONS said.

The narrowing of the deficit comes following a roughly 15% fall in the value of sterling since Britain's Brexit referendum. Surveys have found the pound's fall has been a double-edged sword for many companies: Although it has made British goods and services more competitive to overseas buyers, it has also pushed up the cost of imported raw materials.

Monthly trade data can be erratic and economists say it could be some time before any sustained improvement in the U.K.'s trade deficit from a weaker pound becomes apparent.

Underscoring that volatility, the ONS published substantial revisions to recent trade data Friday.

The deficit in goods trade in the third quarter is now estimated to have been GBP38.7 billion, up from an earlier estimate of GBP33.2 billion. A large chunk of the revisions came from fresh data on imports and exports of gold by private buyers, the ONS said.

Officials added the wider deficit in the third-quarter hasn't altered its estimate for overall growth in the economy in the same period.

-Write to Jason Douglas at jason.douglas@wsj.com and David Hodari at david.hodari@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 09, 2016 04:53 ET (09:53 GMT)

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