China’s Exports Log Surprise Drop in April; Trade Surplus Far Below Expectations

Investing.com - China’s export missed expectations in April, data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed on Wednesday. The trade surplus for the month was also far below expectations.

The trade surplus for the month came in at $13.84 billion, far lower than the expected $35 billion. The figure was also lower than the $32.65 billion posted in March.

Meanwhile, exports dropped by 2.7% in April from a year ago. Analysts expected an increase of 2.3% from a year earlier.

"The outlook for Chinese exports is challenging. If Trump follows through on his latest tariff threats, we think this would drag down export growth by two to three percentage points," Capital Economics said in a research note that was cited by Reuters.

The Sino-U.S. trade dispute made headlines this week after the U.S. said it would raise tariffs on Chinese goods from the current 10% to 25% on Friday. U.S. President Donald Trump said over the weekend that talks were “moving too slowly,” while U.S. officials blamed China for backtracking on committing to certain legal changes that are key to selling the deal domestically.

Imports on the hand unexpectedly expanded by 4%, compared to a fall of 3.6% expected by analysts.

China’s trade surplus with the U.S. rose to $21.01 billion in April from $20.5 billion in March.

The Shenzhen Component erased earlier losses to trade 0.6% higher by 12:54 AM ET (04:54 GMT). The Shanghai Composite is still in the red, down 0.1%, but was off session lows.

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