China’s exports and imports continued to weaken in June and came in below expectations.
China’s exports contracted at the fastest rate since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak in June.
The dollar value of China’s exports fell 12.4 percent in June from a year ago, and imports fell 6.8 percent, according to customs data on Thursday. Economists had expected exports to decline 9.2 percent and imports 4.0 percent. It was the biggest drop in the world’s second-largest economy since February 2020.
Chinese customs office spokesman Lu Daliang said at a news conference on Thursday that China’s trade still faces considerable pressure in the second half of the year, partly due to high inflation and geopolitical reasons in developed countries.
The trade surplus came in at $70.62 billion, slightly below expectations of $74 billion.