China’s export growth slows in August under shadow of trade war uncertainty
Outbound shipments were up 4.4 per cent for the month, falling short of estimate
Outbound shipments rose by 4.4 per cent year on year to US$321.8 billion last month, according to customs data released on Monday.
The figure was lower than the 7.2 per cent recorded in July and fell short of the 5.4 per cent forecast by the Chinese financial data provider Wind.
Imports in August, meanwhile, rose by 1.3 per cent year on year to nearly US$219.5 billion, compared to the 4.1 per cent growth in July and the 3.8 per cent growth forecast by Wind, suggesting little improvement in domestic demand.
China’s trade surplus expanded to US$102.3 billion.
Analysts said the effect of front-loading – when goods were shipped before higher tariff rates took effect – might have waned, but other factors continued to support performance.
“Export growth slowed slightly but stayed positive in August. The front-loading of exports is probably fading away, but not as sharply as [the] market worried [about] one month ago,” said Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist of Pinpoint Asset Management.
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He added that front-loading alone could not explain China’s export resilience, pointing instead to efforts to expand market share abroad through diversification.