China’s exports and imports suffered larger-than-expected drops in the first month of this year in both renminbi- and dollar-denominated terms.
Exports fell 6.6 per cent year-on-year in January to Rmb1.14tn, following a 2.3 per cent gain in December. Economists expected a gain of 3.6 per cent. It was the biggest fall in exports since an 8.9 per cent drop in July last year.
The drop was even more pronounced measured in US dollars, with exports crashing 11.2 per cent year-on-year last month to $177.48bn. That was from a 1.4 per cent drop in December, and versus expectations for a 1.8 per cent slide. It was the biggest drop since a 15 per cent fall in March last year.