BEIJING (National Times) – China\u2019s export growth unexpectedly picked up speed in July, offering an encouraging boost to the economy as it struggles to recover from a sharp, COVID-induced slump, though imports remained sluggish.<\/p>\n
Outbound shipments grew 18.0% in July from a year earlier, the fastest pace this year, official customs data showed on Sunday, compared with a 17.9% rise in June and beating analysts\u2019 expectations for a 15.0% gain.<\/p>\n
Analysts had expected exports to fade amid growing signs of cooling global consumption.<\/p>\n
A global factory survey released last week showed demand weakened in July, with orders and output indexes falling to their weakest levels since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s official manufacturing survey indicated activity contracted last month, raising fears that the economy\u2019s recovery from widespread lockdowns in spring will be slower and bumpier than expected.<\/p>\n
But there were signs that transport and supply chain disruptions caused by the lockdowns were continuing to ease, just in time for shippers preparing for peak year-end shopping demand.<\/p>\n
Foreign trade container throughput at eight major Chinese ports rose 14.5% in July, speeding up from the 8.4% gain in June, according to data released by the domestic port association.<\/p>\n
Container throughput at COVID-hit Shanghai port hit a record high in July.<\/p>\n
IMPORTS STILL TEPID<\/p>\n
Import growth was weaker than expected, however, suggesting China\u2019s domestic consumption remains soft.<\/p>\n
Imports rose 2.3% from a year earlier, compared with June\u2019s 1% gain and missing a forecast of a 3.7% rise.<\/p>\n
Analysts have expected import momentum to pick up modestly in the second half of the year, supported by construction-related equipment and commodities as the government ramps up infrastructure spending.<\/p>\n
China posted a record $101.26 billion trade surplus last month as a result of the low reading on imports but solid export growth. Analysts had forecast a $90.0 billion trade surplus.<\/p>\n
The country\u2019s top economic planner said last week that the economy is in the “critical window” of stabilisation and recovery, and the third quarter is “vital.” <\/p>\n
Top leaders recently signalled they were prepared to miss the government growth target of around 5.5% for 2022, which analysts said had been looking increasingly unattainable after the economy narrowly avoided contracting in the second quarter. <\/p>\n
The International Monetary Fund in late July sharply cut its 2022 growth forecast for China to 3.3% from 4.4% in April, citing COVID lockdowns and the worsening crisis in the country\u2019s property sector. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING (National Times) – China\u2019s export growth unexpectedly picked up speed in July, offering an encouraging boost to the economy as it struggles to recover from a sharp, COVID-induced slump, though imports remained sluggish. Outbound shipments grew 18.0% in July from a year earlier, the fastest pace this year, official customs data showed on Sunday, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n