Explainer | China trade: 5 takeaways from November’s data as exports edge up for first time in 7 months
- China’s exports rose by 0.5 per cent, year on year, in November to US$291.9 billion, marking the first positive reading since April
- Imports fell by 0.6 per cent, year on year, last month to US$223.5 billion
1. ‘Green shoots’ emerge as China’s exports end slide
The year-on-year jump - the first such increase since May - and the level of export volumes hitting a fresh high was supported by exporters reducing prices, according to analysts at Capital Economics.
“We doubt this robustness will persist, however, as exporters wont be able to continue cutting prices for much longer,” they said.
After accounting for price effects and seasonality, Capital Economics estimated that export volumes rose by 1 per cent last month, reaching a record high.
“China’s export growth turned positive in November. The improvement in exports is broadly in line with market expectation,” said Zhang Zhiwei, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
“Indeed, the sequential growth in China’s exports in the past few months strengthened. There are green shoots in other Asian countries’ export data as well in recent months.”