China's exports jump; Ireland in Covid-19 recession; Brexit fears hit pound - business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

• Latest: Ireland has fallen into recession
• Brexit worries hit pound
• UK house prices at new peak
• Introduction: China's exports up 9.5%....but imports fell again
• Oil hit by Saudi price cuts

2.29pm BST

The pound's now lost a whole eurocent against the euro today, dropping to an eight-session low of 1.112.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets commentator, Hargreaves Lansdown, says such weakness is understandable, given rising Brexit tensions.

'Sterling's dip today comes as little surprise amid the ratcheting up of tensions between the EU and the UK over Brexit. Boris Johnson's government is now planning new legislation which would over-ride significant parts of the Withdrawal agreement. Although it's being called a standby plan', the proposals indicate that if there is no deal reached a border would effectively be re-imposed between the Republic and Northern Ireland as goods moving in both directions could be subject to checks and tariffs. That has prompted concerns there could be retaliatory measures imposed between Dover and Calais.

As a consequence there has been a bit of a sell-off in sterling today.

1.55pm BST

Here's our news story on the pick-up in trading at fashion chain Primark:

Related: Primark: UK city centres 'not dead' despite Covid crisis