BEIJING: China’s trade surplus came in at $US46.5 billion, down from $US59.49bn previously, according to data from the General Administration of Customs released on Monday.
Economists polled by Bloomberg expected the surplus to contract slightly in June, with a median forecast of $US57.05bn.
The surplus is a significant fall from the record $US60.5bn surplus recorded in February, when numbers were distorted by the Chinese New Year.
China’s trade surplus over the first half of the year was $US263.2bn. Chinese authorities release trade in both US dollar and Chinese yuan terms.
The surplus for June, as measured in Chinese yuan, came in at 284.2 bn yuan for June and 1.61 trillion yuan for the year to date, more than double the corresponding figure for last year.
Imports denominated in US dollars fell by 6.1 per cent from a year ago in June. Imports have been falling since November 2014, largely on the back of falling commodity prices, with a 17.6 per cent year-on-year decline in the value of imports in May.
Exports in June rose by 2.8 per cent from a year ago, versus an expected 1 per cent rise. This follows a 2.5 per cent fall in the US dollar value of exports in May.
The lacklustre export data, while above expectations, casts further doubts over the government’s ability to hit its full-year trade growth target of 6 per cent. Exports only grew by 1.0 per cent in the first 6 months of the year.
“Commodity prices fell significantly, dragging down growth in import value,” a Chinese customs spokesman Huang Songping told reporters.
“Export costs remained high, undermining export competitiveness,” he said, adding the yuan had strengthened against the dollar, euro and yen since the start of the year.
“The downward pressures on the domestic economy increased and the demand for imports was weak.”
The trade data is released a day before China is expected to announce its GDP growth figures for Q2, with many economists tipping growth of below 7 per cent for the first time in 6 years.
