BEIJING: Chinese imports and exports both fell in November, official data showed Tuesday, the latest poor figures from the world’s second-largest economy.
The country is a key driver of global growth and its shipments of finished goods, along with its demand for the resources to manufacture them, affect nations across the world.
Exports sank 6.8 percent year-on-year to $197.2 billion in November, Customs said—a marginal improvement on the previous month, but worse than the five percent drop forecast in a Bloomberg poll of economists.
Overseas shipments have been declining every month this year except for February, when the figures were skewed by the Chinese New Year.
Imports tumbled 8.7 percent to $143.1 billion—the 13th straight month of declines, but narrowing significantly from an 18.8 percent slump in October.
The figure was better than the 11.9 percent drop estimated in the Bloomberg survey.
Analysts attributed the slower fall to Beijing’s monetary easing policies and the slump in global commodity prices late last year, which lowered the basis for comparison.
“Although disappointing exports data suggest that foreign demand remains subdued, a recovery in imports hints at a policy-driven pick-up in domestic demand,” wrote Julian Evans-Pritchard with research firm Capital Economics in a note.
The government has turned to monetary loosening to stimulate growth, cutting interest rates six times since November last year.
Louis Kuijs, an analyst with Oxford Economics, said the import figures indicated “a stabilisation of domestic demand momentum”, while the exports data showed the competitiveness of Chinese manufacturers had been undermined by rivals’ currencies such as the euro and yen depreciating against the dollar.
“China’s November export data suggest that global demand remains weak and Chinese manufacturing is feeling the brunt of a relatively strong currency,” he said in a report.
