Government figures showing a bounceback in February rightly come with a health warning
The government’s monthly trade figures come with a health warning – and rightly so. A combination of Covid-19 and Brexit means it is impossible to draw any firm conclusions about the trend from a single month’s data.
Look at what has happened to the UK’s exports to the EU. These collapsed by a revised record 42% in January but according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics subsequently rose by more than 46% in February.