Exports may rise but complacency is out

The trouble with good economic data at the moment is that it encourages every Government politician to crow about how well we are doing and damn the begrudgers while ensuring that the unions will up the pressure for a renegotiation of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness in the light of rising inflation.

And so it is with the latest export figures. By any standard, a rise of 26 per cent in exports in the first six months of the year is impressive, even if imports rose by nearly as much.

But it is worth noting that a large portion of the increase is accounted for by the US and the UK. While some exports are more price sensitive than others, the collapse of the euro against the dollar and sterling has got to have played a part in the surge in the value of exports to the point where it topped £6 billion (€7.6 billion) in June.

Until the euro eventually recovers some of its lost ground, we will not have a true picture of the state of trade worldwide. Whether yesterday's intervention will be sufficient to turn that tide is still a moot point.

Dominic Coyle can be contacted at dcoyle@irish-times.ie