TABLE-China's Oct trade with U.S., EU and key economies

BEIJING, Nov 8 (Reuters) - China's exports and imports contracted less than expected in October, providing some relief for the economy as Beijing tries to reach a partial trade deal with Washington. But even if a U.S.-China trade deal is signed soon, economists say it is unlikely to help boost exports and manufacturing for some time yet and could still mean more stimulus is needed from Beijing to avert a sharper downturn. October exports fell for the third straight month, down 0.9% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Friday, less than a 3.9% fall forecast in a Reuters poll and September's 3.2% contraction. Imports shrank for the sixth consecutive month, though the 6.4% drop was smaller than an expected 8.9% and September's 8.5% decline. Following is a breakdown of China's exports and imports with its biggest trade partners in October. Oct Exports Imports Balance Exports Imports +/- Exports +/- Imports +/- ($bln) ($bln) ($bln) +/- % y/y % y/y % m/m % m/m Japan 11.6 14.1 -2.5 -7.8% -7.3% -9.5% -6.7% South 9.5 14.8 -5.3 5.5% -17.5% 9.6% -1.2% Korea Taiwan 5.2 15.3 -10.1 19.7% -5.4% 5.8% -1.8% European 36.1 25.2 10.9 3.1% 16.6% -3.6% 9.1% Union USA 35.8 9.4 26.4 -16.2% -14.3% -1.9% -11.5% Australia 4.5 9.5 -5.0 -0.6% 11.5% -4.3% -14.0% ASEAN 32.1 25.2 6.9 15.8% 2.3% 6.7% -7.5% Source: Reuters calculations based on customs data (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Kim Coghill)