MW: China’s trade surplus yawns to $27 billion in October
By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — China’s trade surplus widened in October from September, even as import growth outpaced export growth for the month, government data showed Wednesday.
The margin between what the nation sells and what it purchases from the global economy rose to $27.15 billion for the month, up from $16.9 billion in September, marking the second-largest monthly surplus this year following July’s $28.73 billion, according to General Administration of Customs’ figures cited by the state-run Xinhua news agency.
The monthly figures bring China’s cumulative trade surplus for the first 10 months of the year to $147.77 billion, a drop of 6.7% below year-earlier levels, the government agency said.
October’s trade surplus was slightly larger than expectations of $26.4 billion, according to the median forecast from a poll reported by Dow Jones Newswires.
Imports grew 25.35% for the month, while exports were up 22.9%.
The result will likely provide further ammunition for critics who say China is deriving an unfair trade advance from an undervalued currency.
China’s share markets traded lower following the release, with Shanghai’s Composite Index (CN:SHCOMP 3,100, -34.96, -1.12%) down 0.8, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HK:HANGSENG 24,426, -284.53, -1.15%) was down 0.9%, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index eased 1.2%
