Economists have further cause for alarm in the world’s second-largest economy as Chinese exports fell 10% in September from a year earlier, reported Reuters.
Analysts had expected a fall of just 3%, but it appears the usually strong demand at this time of year has failed to materialise for Asian goods in 2016, with weak South Korean trade data also confirming that global demand is not improving.
China’s trade surplus was at US$41.99 billion for September, the lowest for six months, with analysts expecting it to be somewhere in the region of $53 billion.
Some readjustment in China’s economy is to be expected as it tries to pivot from export-led to domestic demand for its produce, however the weaker demand overseas does not yet seem to be translating into better returns internally, with imports also unexpectedly falling by 1.9% in September.
Speaking to Reuters, Julian Evans-Pritchard at Capital Economics said: “The continued underwhelming performance of Chinese exports adds weight to our view that the People’s Bank will maintain its recent policy of gradual trade-weighted renminbi (yuan) depreciation in coming quarters,” The yuan was trading at a six-year low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday.
Earlier in the month PTI reported that the warning signs were already there for China’s economy, with the September figures confirming those fears.
