China’s exports fell at fastest pace in three years, imports missed expectations

 

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China’s exports tumbled in June at the fastest pace since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, as high inflation in developed economies and geopolitics hit global demand.

Exports, in US dollar terms, fell 12.4% in June from a year earlier, according to China’s customs administration, far bigger than a drop of 9.5% expected by analysts in a Reuters poll and the 7.5% decline in May. That’s the steepest decline since February 2020.

Imports declined 6.8%, in June from a year earlier, also weaker than the expected 4% drop and the 4.5% annual fall in the previous month.

That left China’s trade surplus at $70.6 billion in June, compared to expected $74.9 billion and the 65.8 billion in the previous month.

In yuan terms, China’s exports declined by 8.3% in June from a year earlier, compared to the 0.8% drop in the previous month and imports dropped by 2.6%, compared to the 2.3% growth in May, showed the customs data.

Trade surplus reached 491.25 billion yuan in June, expanding from previous 452.3 billion yuan. 

China’s exports to the US plunged by 24% in June to $42.7 billion from a year ago, while imports fell 4% to nearly $14 billion, according to calculations based on official data.

Lv Daliang, a spokesperson for the General Administration of Customs, attributed the weak export performance to “a weak global economic recovery, slowing global trade and investment, and rising unilateralism, protectionism and geopolitics”.