China's exports grew unexpectedly in November as a weaker yuan underpinned foreign demand, while imports logged a notable gain on domestic orders.
Data from the General Administration of Customs showed that exports edged up 0.1 percent from a year ago in dollar terms, confounding expectations for a decline of 5 percent.
At the same time, imports advanced 6.7 percent in November in contrast to the expected fall of 1.9 percent. As a result, the trade surplus came in at $44.6 billion versus a $46.9 billion expected surplus.
In yuan terms, exports climbed unexpectedly by 5.9 percent annually and imports surged 13 percent, the customs office said. Exports were expected to drop 0.7 percent and imports to grow 4.1 percent.
Consequently, the trade surplus totaled CNY 298.1 billion in November.
According to Purchasing Managers' survey, manufacturers raised their production on greater order intake in November. A number of panelists suggested that stronger domestic demand was behind the latest rise in new business. Furthermore, new export work was broadly unchanged in November.
Despite today's positive surprise, the medium-term outlook for Chinese trade remains challenging, Julian Evans-Pritchard, a China economist at Capital Economics, said.
While global demand has recovered somewhat recently, lower trend growth in many developed and emerging economies means that further upside is probably limited, he noted.
Further, the economist think that President-elect Donald Trump will most likely stop short of enacting damaging protectionist measures, his election has nonetheless set back global efforts to reduce trade barriers.
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