US imports from China rose to an all-time record after seasonal adjustment in April, despite the Shanghai lockdown and other Covid-related blockages in the Chinese economy. That isn’t what you read in Bloomberg News, whose 30 economists and 100 full-time economics reporters apparently haven’t learned the difference between seasonally adjusted and unadjusted data. Unadjusted, the data show a typical bouncing-ball pattern over a 12-month cycle. It is meaningless to make month-to-month comparisons without taking into account the pronounced seasonality of trade patterns. The chart above reflects seasonal adjustment ... (full story)