China trade: export growth slows to 5.7 per cent in September, imports unchanged at 0.3 per cent
- China’s exports grew by 5.7 per cent in September compared with a year earlier, down from 7.1 per cent growth in August
- Imports grew by 0.3 per cent in September compared with a year earlier, unchanged from 0.3 per cent growth in August
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China’s export growth slowed in September, data released on Monday showed.
The September figure was below expectations of a 5.8 per cent rise, according to Wind, a leading provider of financial information services in China.
Imports, meanwhile, grew by 0.3 per cent in September from a year earlier to US$238.01 billion, unchanged from 0.3 per cent growth in August, and below expectations of a 1.3 per cent rise.
China’s total trade surplus was US$84.75 billion in September compared to US$79.39 billion in August.
Headline export growth slowed from 7.1 per cent year on year to 5.7 per cent in US dollar terms. But we estimate that export values rose 1 per cent in month on month terms
The trade data was expected to be released on October 14 before the opening of the 20th party congress, but was delayed without an official explanation.
“Headline export growth slowed from 7.1 per cent year on year to 5.7 per cent in US dollar terms. But we estimate that export values rose 1 per cent in month on month terms. And after adjusting for a fall in export prices, the pickup in export volumes was slightly larger. This only partially reverses the sharp drop in August, however, and still leaves export volumes 4.5 per cent below their May peak,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics.
“Meanwhile, the pace of import growth was unchanged at 0.3 per cent year on year in dollar terms. In seasonally-adjusted terms, import values fell 2.5 per cent month on month. Even accounting for a slight decline in import prices, our estimates point to a fall in import volumes last month, consistent with continued weakness in domestic investment.”
The 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) continued to be China’s largest trade partner, followed by the European Union and the United States.
China’s exports to Asean countries rose to US$52.3 billion in September, up by 29.5 per cent compared with a year earlier, while imports rose by nearly 5 per cent to almost US$38 billion.
China’s exports to the European Union rose by 5.6 per cent from a year earlier to nearly US$47 billion in September, while imports declined by 8.4 per cent to US$23.8 billion.
Imports from the US dropped by 4.6 per cent to US$14.7 billion in September, while exports fell by 11.6 per cent to US$50.8 billion.
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China’s trade surplus with the US narrowed by 14.1 per cent from a year earlier to US$36.1 billion, down from US$37.7 billion in August.
In September, China’s import from Russia surged by 55.2 per cent to nearly US$10.7 billion, while exports rose by 22.2 per cent to almost US$8 billion.
The trade deficit with Russia grew by 894.1 per cent to around US$2.7 billion.
