The British currency is pounds sterling. It is not likely, that Britain will adopt the Euro in the foreseeable future. After all, the British public has enjoyed ten years of uninterrupted growth and is wary of a currency that is perceived to have limited economic growth in the Euro Zone. Britain’s economy grew at 3.1% in 2004 and growth for 2005 is predicted at 2.6%.

This strong growth has led to unemployment declining to 4.6%. As a consequence of the resulting shortage for skilled labour, wages and salaries have inflated by 4.4%. The overall published inflation (CPI) is currently 1.6%. The Bank of England is tasked with holding this rate at between 1% and 2%. The more widely used RPI which includes the cost of mortgage borrowing, an important factor in most household budgets in the UK, is running at 3.4%.

The balance of payments situation for Great Britain shows a large but stable negative balance of €4.5 billion per month. The negative balance with Germany accounts for €20 billion per year of that figure.
The above statistics are the result of a shrinking manufacturing base and an ever-growing public sector, a situation that the incoming government will have to address.

Key trade figures Germany/ United Kingdom 2002
Key figure	Value
Imports from United Kingdom to Germany	33.0 bill. €
Exports from Germany to United Kingdom	53.8 bill. €
Balance	20.8 bill. €
As % of total Britisch imports (of total German imports)	13.0 (6.4)
as % of total Britisch exports (of total German exports)	13.0 (8.3)
Position on the list of German trading partners export/import	3. / 5.

Source: German Ministry of Economics and Labour, Foreign Trade Portal ixpos.de