China’s slowing economy hit trade last month. Imports and exports came in worse than anticipated and the monthly trade surplus bulged to a record $60bn as a survey yesterday revealed that the key manufacturing sector contracted in January for the first time in more than two years.
Exports fell 3.3 per cent last month from a year earlier, while imports slumped by 19.9 per cent, according to data released yesterday by the Customs Administration. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected exports to rise by 6.3 per cent and imports to fall only 3 per cent, to give a trade deficit of $48.9bn.
The majority of the slump in imports was the result of falling commodity prices, especially coal and oil, according to analysts at ANZ Research.
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