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China’s June exports grow at the fastest rate in five months
* China slows June import growth, forecast
* Global export outlook faces uncertainty
* Darkening of the economic context, the war in Ukraine adds to the tension
BEIJING, July 13 (Reuters) – China’s exports grew at their fastest pace in five months in June, beating analysts’ expectations and adding evidence that the world’s second-largest economy is slowly recovering from the damage caused by pandemic restrictions.
However, imports grew at a slower pace, without forecasts, despite the easing of movement limits.
Despite sustained export growth, the country’s industry prospects face increasing pressures in the current part of the year, as declining demand in key export markets, a protracted war in Ukraine, and higher inflation fuel fears of a global recession.
Outbound shipments in June were 17. 9% higher than a year earlier, according to official customs data on Wednesday, with an annual increase of 16. 9% recorded in May and faster than analysts’ expectations of a 12. 0% increase.
While a weaker yuan and higher global costs have supported shipments, the immediate recovery of commercial production in primary production hubs and the resumption of port operations and logistics have also helped, said Wen Bin, chief economist at Minsheng Bank.
Daily container traffic in June at the port of Shanghai, which in the past had been severely affected by a shutdown, had returned to at least 95% of the same point a year earlier, according to official data.
Thanks to stimulus measures and the lifting of lockdown measures, China’s economy recovered last month. It suffered a severe crisis in April as the country grappled with its biggest COVID-19 outbreak since 2020.
Officials and surveys show that the country’s factory activity shook 3 months of decline in June.
Wednesday’s customs knowledge showed June imports rose 1. 0 percent from a year earlier, slowing from May’s 4. 1 percent increase, weighed down by a slowdown induced by the exclusion of commodity imports and weak domestic consumption. Analysts had expected a build-up of 3. 9%.
China posted an industry surplus of $97. 94 billion last month, while analysts forecast a surplus of $75. 7 billion and a surplus of $78. 76 billion in May.
Policymakers are doubling infrastructure spending to help with the damage inflicted by anti-virus measures and other economic problems.
China’s foreign industry still faces instability and uncertainty, Li Kuiwen, a spokesman for the General Administration of Customs, said at a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
In addition, adding to the headwinds, the highly transmissible subvariant BA. 5 Omicron has been discovered in several cities over the past week.
On Monday, 31 cities, representing 17. 5 percent of China’s population and 25. 5 percent of GDP, implemented general or partial shutdowns or some district-level measures, Nomura analysts said in a note.
China is due to release its knowledge of second-quarter GDP on Friday. Analysts say the official target of around 5. 5% for this year will be difficult to achieve without giving up Beijing’s strict COVID-0 strategy. (Reporting via Stella Qiu, Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing through Bradley Perrett