After a steep drop in January - following Brexit - trade between the UK and EU partially recovered in February. According to official export figures, shipments to the EU jumped by 46.6%, from £3.7 billion to £11.6 billion.
Still, the Office for National Statistics said exports remained below last year's levels and imports from the EU had seen a weaker recovery. Other figures from the ONS showed the UK economy grew by 0.4% in February. The UK's statistics body said the economy was still 7.8% smaller than a year earlier, before the impact of the pandemic. Bbc.com reports that last month's trade figures were the first since new trading rules came into force as a result of Brexit trade rule changes.