AFP, Beijing :
China’s imports fell nearly 19 percent in October from a year ago, official data showed Sunday, underlining battered domestic demand in the world’s second-largest economy where downward pressures on economic growth persist.
A key driver of world growth and the planet’s biggest trader in goods, the slowdown in China’s economic expansion has sent jitters across global stock markets and taken a great toll on resource-rich countries for whom the Asian country is a crucial client.
Imports fell 18.8 percent to $130.77 billion, the 12th consecutive monthly drop in imports, following a 20.4 decrease in September.
Exports, too, continued their losing streak from July, dropping by 6.9 percent year-on-year in October to $192.41 billion as foreign demand languished, according to figures from the General Administration of Customs.
The decrease in exports was larger than a median forecast of a 3.2 percent decline in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.
The October trade surplus rose to $61.64 billion, driven by the continued drop in imports, the data showed, suggesting that the Asian giant continues to struggle with improving domestic demand.
Doldrums in China’s property market, overcapacity in the manufacturing sector and slowed government spending in infrastructure have contributed to the country’s economic slowdown and contribute to decreasing demand for commodities, like coal and iron, used in heavy industry.
While falling prices have been a major factor in driving China’s import numbers down, the data also show decreasing demand for major industrial commodities.
Coal imports have dropped almost 30 percent in volume and 45 percent in value over the first 10 months of the year, measured in the local currency, the data showed.
China’s imports fell nearly 19 percent in October from a year ago, official data showed Sunday, underlining battered domestic demand in the world’s second-largest economy where downward pressures on economic growth persist.
A key driver of world growth and the planet’s biggest trader in goods, the slowdown in China’s economic expansion has sent jitters across global stock markets and taken a great toll on resource-rich countries for whom the Asian country is a crucial client.
Imports fell 18.8 percent to $130.77 billion, the 12th consecutive monthly drop in imports, following a 20.4 decrease in September.
Exports, too, continued their losing streak from July, dropping by 6.9 percent year-on-year in October to $192.41 billion as foreign demand languished, according to figures from the General Administration of Customs.
The decrease in exports was larger than a median forecast of a 3.2 percent decline in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.
The October trade surplus rose to $61.64 billion, driven by the continued drop in imports, the data showed, suggesting that the Asian giant continues to struggle with improving domestic demand.
Doldrums in China’s property market, overcapacity in the manufacturing sector and slowed government spending in infrastructure have contributed to the country’s economic slowdown and contribute to decreasing demand for commodities, like coal and iron, used in heavy industry.
While falling prices have been a major factor in driving China’s import numbers down, the data also show decreasing demand for major industrial commodities.
Coal imports have dropped almost 30 percent in volume and 45 percent in value over the first 10 months of the year, measured in the local currency, the data showed.
