BEIJING: China’s exports and imports tumbled in April, dashing hopes of a seasonal rebound and underscoring concerns over the soggy trade picture in the world’s second biggest economy.
Exports fell 6.4 percent in April from the year-ago period, coming in worse than the 2.4 percent rise forecast in a Reuters poll and following a 15 percent plunge in March.
Imports dived 16.2 percent on year, also missing the 12 percent expected drop and after falling 12.7 percent in March.
This brought the trade surplus for the month to $34.13 billion, compared with the $39.45 billion forecast and March’s print of $30.8 billion.
The news dampened prospects for Australia, one of the mainland’s major trading partners, and the Australian dollar fell to fresh session lows on the news, easing to $0.7859.
