My latest complaint is with news accounts of the PRC trade balance numbers. OK, yes the trade surplus went down a lot, but everyone who doesn’t live in a cave understands that a lot of this has to do with the snowstorms. Is there a general shrinking of the trade gap due to a slow in U.S. demand? Sure. But the breathless articles that are overstating the role of US demand in February are really starting to piss me off.

The Guardian: China’s Trade Surplus in Dramatic Fall

Forbes: China Trade Surplus Falls Steeply in February

Bloomberg: China Trade Surplus Narrows as US Demand Weakens

AFP: China’s Trade Surplus Drops Sharply in February