BEIJING: China’s exports slumped 15 per cent in March against a year earlier in a sharp reversal of the last two months’ growth and raising the spectre of disappointing first-quarter economic growth.
Jitters about the slowing Chinese economy, which Beijing is targeting to increase “about 7 per cent” this year, reverberate globally and have already helped dent commodity prices. As such, markets will be watching closely when the country releases its estimate for first-quarter gross domestic product on Wednesday.
China is buying less as well as shipping less: March imports fell 12.3 per cent compared with the same month last year.
The March trade figure, released by China’s customs administration on Monday, contrasted with a 15 per cent year-on-year rise in exports and 20 per cent fall in imports for the first two months of the year.
January and February figures are combined to eliminate distortions from the lunar new year holiday, which can fall in either month.
“The domestic economy is facing increasing downward pressure as it enters the ‘new normal’,” said customs spokesman Huang Songping, referring to Beijing’s catchphrase for an era of slower growth.
“We cannot be certain of stable exports in the second quarter. These difficulties and problems are worthy of our high attention.”
China’s March trade surplus, at Rmb18.8bn ($3bn), also came in far below expectations after February’s record Rmb370.5bn surplus.
Beijing had been counting on strong trade figures to give a much-needed boost to the economy, especially with other key sectors flagging. Last month China’s central bank moved to boost the property sector, which accounts for as much as a quarter of GDP by some estimates, by reducing downpayment requirements on second home purchases.
The Shanghai Composite Index, often disconnected from the real economy, was up 1.1 per cent at mid-morning.
