China demand may not be as weak as Jan import slump suggests

Singapore

A SURPRISING plunge in China's imports shows that Asia's largest economy is still losing momentum despite a raft of stimulus measures, though global price moves and the impact of holidays may have overstated the extent of the downturn.

January imports tumbled 20 per cent from a year earlier, the steepest slide since May 2009 when factories slashed inventories in reaction to the global financial crisis. Exports were down an annual 3.3 per cent.