China’s exports, imports declined at slower pace in August

 

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China’s exports, in US dollar terms, fell by 8.8% in August from a year earlier, according to data releases by the General Administration of Customs, compared to previous 14.5% drop, and better than the 9.2% drop forecast by a Reuters poll.

The country’s imports fell 7.3%, compared to previous 12.4% drop and better than the 9% decline forecast in a Reuters poll, according to the data. Trade surplus narrowed to $68.36 billion from previous $80.6 billion.

China’s exports, in yuan terms, fell by 3.2% in August from a year earlier, compared to previous 9.2% drop, and imports fell 1.6%, compared to previous 6.9% drop, showed the customs data.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is China’s largest trading partner. China’s exports to the ASEAN fell by 13.3%, while imports dropped by 6.1% in August from a year ago, the data showed.

China’s exports to the US in dollar terms declined by 9.5% in August from a year earlier, better than a drop of more than 20% in each of the prior two months, while China’s imports from the US fell by 7.9% in August from a year ago, an improvement from a double-digit decline in July, according to calculations of official data.

By category, exports of labor-intensive products declined at a slower pace in August due to lower base last year. Of that, exports of textile products including masks fell by 6.4% year over year in August, narrowing by 11.5 percentage points from July, while the decline of exports of suitcases, apparels and shoes/boots narrowed to 8.9%, 12.5% and 22%, showed the data.

Exports of mechanical and electrical products declined by 7.3% on year in August, narrowing by 4.6 percentage points from the previous month, and of that, exports of high-tech products fell by 13.2%, narrowing by 4.9 percentage points from the previous month. Exports of mobile phones slid by 20.5% in August from a year earlier, compared to the 2.3% gain in July, showed the data.

During the first eight months of the year, China’s total imports and exports reached 27.08 trillion yuan, edging down 0.1% from a year ago and marking a historical high level for the same period, with exports rising by 0.8% to 15.47 trillion yuan, and imports falling 1.3% to 11.61 trillion yuan, according to the customs data.

Trade surplus expanded by 7.3% to 3.86 trillion yuan, it said.

Imports have now fallen every month in 2023 from the year-ago period. Exports have fallen year-on-year for every month since April as global demand for Chinese goods wanes.