China’s Trade Plunges More Than Forecast in Blow to Recovery
- Exports drop 14.5% y/y in July, worst decline since Feb. 2020
- Imports fall 12.4%, much deeper than economists expected
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China’s trade plunged in July as slowing global demand clouded the outlook for exports, while domestic pressures weighed on imports in a hit to the economic recovery.
Overseas shipments dropped 14.5% in dollar terms last month from a year earlier — the worst decline since February 2020 — while imports contracted 12.4%, the customs administration said Tuesday. That left a trade surplus of $80.6 billion for the month. The export and import figures were worse than what economists polled by Bloomberg had expected.