Bankinter| According to data from the General Bureau of Customs, China’s trade surplus fell to $70.62 billion in June from $97.37 billion in the same period last year, a lower reading than the $74.8 billion expected by the analyst consensus, as exports fell more than imports, amid persistently weak global demand.
Exports through customs fell by 12.4% year-on-year in June, a larger drop than the 9.5% expected by the consensus and following the 7.5% drop in the previous month. The consensus forecast would have been the lowest reading since January, as the estimates were modelled by the advance manufacturing activity index, PMI manufacturing. While the overall trend was not a surprise, the acceleration in weakness affirmed the growing pessimism about the outlook, with a notable number of economists expecting double digit declines. Imports, meanwhile, fell by 6.8% year-on-year, compared to the 4.0% drop expected by the consensus, and 4.5% in the previous month.
