China's declining trade points to more stimulus measures ahead

Beijing

CHINA's exports fell for a fourth straight month and imports matched a record stretch of declines, signalling that the mounting drag from slower global growth will push policymakers towards expanding stimulus.

Overseas shipments dropped 6.9 per cent in October in dollar terms, the customs administration said on Sunday, a bigger decline than estimated by all 31 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Weaker demand for coal, iron and other commodities for China's declining heavy industries helped drag imports down 18.8 per cent in dollar terms, leaving a record trade surplus of US$61.6 billion. This surplus is a 36 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2014 and the highest such figure since at least 1995.