The retail sales news is particularly important because it's consistent with the theory that the spring surge in petrol prices was a major cause of the economic slowdown earlier this year.

零售业的消息之所以格外重要是因为和此理论不谋而合：油价的春季飙升才是年初经济放缓的主要原因。

youdao

But if that recovery was ever on track, it was derailed this spring by the surge in energy prices and the earthquake that relegated Japan to the economic sidelines for a few months.

即使他所说的经济复苏的确一度走上正轨，这一趋势在今年春天又再次脱轨，罪魁祸首就是能源价格上涨以及使日本经济边缘化的大地震。

youdao

"I ... would like to remind people that in 1918 the Spanish flu showed a surge in the spring, and then disappeared in the summer months, only to return in the autumn of 1918 with a vengeance, " Hartl said.

CNN: Confirmed cases of H1N1 virus approach 900

We had the surge from 2009 to spring 2010.

FORBES: 2012 Outlook: Economic Slowdown Could Pinch Demand For Some Commodities

Those perceptions contributed to several stinging regional election losses for the Christian Democratic Union this spring, and have led to a surge in clout for the opposition Green Party.

WSJ: Germany to Forsake Its Nuclear Reactors