(18 July 2017 – China) China’s exports ended the second quarter with the fastest pace of monthly growth since March, helping to push the country’s trade surplus to the second-highest level for 2017 in spite of the higher than expected growth in imports.
“Machinery electronics and high-tech products continued to be the main drivers for exports,” said Kelvin Lam, greater China economist at HSBC.
Exports rose 11.3 percent year on year in dollar terms in June, according to China’s General Administration of Customs, up from the 8.7 percent rate in May.
Import growth also rose 17.2 percent year-on-year on the back of solid demand for capital goods. That was above the 13.1 percent increase market forecast and up from the 14.8 percent rate in May.
That saw the trade surplus grow from US$40.81 billion to US$42.77 billion, marginally topping the US$42.44 billion. Overall China recorded a trade surplus of US$188 billion in the same period, down 17.7 percent on year, according to the General Administration of Customs.
China’s trade surplus with the US was US$25.4 billion in June, up from US$22 billion in May, and the highest since October 2015.
Exports to the US and EU grew by 19.9 percent and 15.2 percent from a year earlier, up from 11.7 percent and 9.7 percent in May.
China publishes its second quarter economic growth numbers on Monday. Analysts think the economy cooled slightly to an annual rate of 6.8 percent in the June quarter from 6.9 percent in the first quarter.