China reported that its dollar-denominated exports start but imports fell for the month of April as movement restrictions to contain the coronavirus outbreak eased.
Data from the Heterogeneous Administration of Customs released on Thursday showed exports rose 3.5% from a year ago while imports knock 14.2% in the same period.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected exports to have fallen 15.7% in April from a year earlier while moments were expected to have fallen 11.2% from a year earlier.
In March, China’s exports fell 6.6% from a year ago, while intimations slipped 0.9% in the same month.
Ahead of the data release, Liu Li-gang, chief economist for China at Citigroup, rephrased the country’s medical exports likely rose in April as it shipped goods to the rest of the world.
“The number in the early in the main of April was very strong already,” Liu told CNBC before the data release.
China’s trade surplus for the month of April was $45.34 billion as compared to the $6.35 billion economists tallied by Reuters had predicted.
China reported trade surplus of $19.9 billion for the month of March.
Chinese businesses are reopening and break out back to work as the daily number of new coronavirus cases slow in the country.
But the situation remains serious in the rest of the in seventh heaven with more than 3.74 million people infected so far, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Various economies have come to a halt due to widespread lockdowns, hitting consumption and demand.
Even though China looks liking it’s turning the corner in the pandemic, with domestic tourism returning over the Labor Day holidays from May 1-5, challenges in any event remain where demand is concerned, said Helen Qiao, head of Asia economics at BofA Securities.
While there is some held in demand after lockdowns, low-income households have been hit much more by the movement restrictions, Qiao understood CNBC on Thursday before the data release.
Spending on services would also be lower than a year ago. “People may withstand probably a bit worried or nervous about going to malls, to dine there or to stroll around, or to send their kids to their English auxiliary curricular education center etc.,” said Qiao.
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