China: Export growth picks up in July
Export growth accelerated in July, expanding 12.2% over the previous year after logging a 11.3% increase in June. The figure was above market expectations of a 10.0% increase.
Meanwhile, import growth surged from 14.1% year-on-year in June to 27.3% in July, surpassing analysts’ expectations of more moderate 16.5% growth.
The trade surplus consequently fell to USD 28.1 billion in July, from USD 44.9 billion the same month a year prior (June 2018: USD 41.5 billion surplus). The 12-month moving sum of the trade surplus also fell from June’s USD 384 billion to USD 363 billion in July, the lowest figure in almost four years.