BRITAIN'S goods trade deficit with the rest of the world widened more than expected in March after imports grew more than five times faster than exports, official data showed yesterday.

The Office for National Statistics said the data's volatility had been heightened by weather-related distortions at the start of the year, which shifted some exports into February, when the trade gap narrowed to a three-and-a-half year low.

The global goods trade gap widened to 7.522 billion pounds (US$11.117 billion) in March from February's 6.305 billion pounds, after exports held broadly steady at 21.437 billion pounds but imports rose to 28.959 billion pounds from 27.532 billion pounds.

This 5.2 percent monthly rise in imports was the biggest gain since September 2009.

The figures are unlikely to please Bank of England Governor Mervyn King, who said on Wednesday that Britain's economy needed to refocus on exports and move away from growth based on domestic consumption.

The rise in imports was broad-based and driven by a jump in imports of intermediate goods such as mechanical and electrical engineering components.