Beware Base Effects

Categories: ONS
Checkout Picture

The sharp rise in consumer prices inflation revealed in the latest monthly data has inevitably prompted speculation about what’s to come. To fully understand the new figures, however, it’s important to remember that we have just passed the first anniversary of the pandemic. As Grant Fitzner explains, the statistical effects of that landmark need to unravel before the real the path of inflation and other economic statistics becomes clear.

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Trade off: different ways of measuring imports and exports

Categories: Data, Economy, ONS
Image shows a shipping container being craned off a container lorry, indicative of trade

In the post-Brexit period, official trade statistics are being scrutinised as never before.  It’s been noted that the UK figures from the ONS appear to tell a different story from those released by Eurostat, the EU’s own statistical agency. In this post Matt Hughes examines those discrepancies and explains why they don’t mean one side is necessarily wrong.    

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