China's exports climbed at the fastest pace in a year in March, while imports declined at a slower pace, suggesting that the economy is gaining momentum at the end of first quarter.
Data published by the General Administration of Customs showed that exports grew 11.5 percent year-over-year in March, exceeding economists' expectations for a 10.0 percent rise and reversed February's 25.4 percent decline.
Exports benefited from a lower base comparison caused by the Lunar New Year holidays.
At the same time, imports dropped 7.6 percent in March from a year ago, slower than the 10.1 percent decrease expected by economists and a 13.8 percent fall seen in February.
The trade surplus came in at $29.9 billion in March, which was however, below the expected surplus of $34.95 billion.
In yuan denominated terms, exports surged up 18.7 percent, while imports fell 1.7 percent in March.
Marcel Thieliant at Capital Economics, said the trade data for March points to healthy growth in import volumes and add to growing evidence that the extreme gloom of a few weeks ago about the state of the domestic economy was misplaced.
In its latest World Economic Outlook released Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund said its growth forecast for China was boosted to 6.5 percent and 6.2 percent for this year and the next, respectively.
The National Bureau of Statistics is set to release its first quarter GDP data on April 15. The economy is forecast to grow at a slower pace of 6.7 percent after expanding by 6.8 percent a quarter ago.
The government has set a growth target of 6.5-7 percent for 2016.
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