China’s dollar-denominated exports surpassed expectations of 9.5% growth in August from a year earlier, according to the country’s General Customs Administration on Monday.
Meanwhile, China’s imports in dollar terms fell 2.1% in August from a year ago.
Economists interviewed by Reuters expected exports to increase 7.1% in August from a year earlier compared to 7.2% growth in July, while imports were expected to rise 0.1% in August from a year ago after breaking the fall of 1.4% in July.
In August, China’s trade surplus was $ 58.93 billion, beating economists’ expectations of $ 50.50 billion. China’s trade surplus in July was $ 62.33 billion.
Strong export performance for two consecutive months will drive China’s growth in the second half of the year, said Bo Zhuang, chief economist for China at TS Lombard.
He added that even though import data for August was disappointing, demand for the goods was “very high.” However, the import of machinery was weak.
“The Chinese have (bought) more raw materials, but are still very pessimistic about the investment outlook based on import data,” Chuang said.
As export growth was driven by demand for personal protective equipment and items for work at home such as computers, the strong numbers are likely to slow in the coming months, Chuang said.
“Once European or American households buy one laptop or two game consoles, they are not going to continue to buy such items for the foreseeable future,” he said.
This is the latest news. Please stay tuned.
