BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s imports unexpectedly grew in October while exports contracted at a quicker pace, in a mixed set of indicators that showed the recovery in the world’s second-largest economy remains uneven.
Exports shrank 6.4% from a year earlier in October, customs data showed on Tuesday, faster than a 6.2% decline in September and worse than a 3.3% fall expected in a Reuters poll. Imports rose 3.0%, faster than the 6.2% fall in September and an expected 4.8% contraction.
Recent indicators suggest policy measures introduced since June are helping bolster a tentative recovery, although a protracted property crisis and soft global demand remain major headwinds.
The Baltic Dry Index, a bellwether gauge of global trade, hit its lowest since December 2020 in October, due to congestion in North American and European ports.
However, in a sign trade is finding its footing, South Korean exports to China fell at their slowest pace in 13 months in October.
China posted a trade surplus of $56.53 billion in October, compared with a $82.00 billion surplus expected in the poll and $77.71 billion in September.
Analysts say it is too early to tell whether recent policy support will be enough to shore up domestic demand, with property, unemployment and weak household and business confidence threatening a sustainable rebound.
China’s manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in October, data showed last week, complicating policymakers’ efforts to revitalise economic growth as the year draws to a close.
(Reporting by Joe Cash. Editing by Sam Holmes)
