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.

The sharp fall in import volumes, led by commodities, suggested China is slowing at an even faster pace than many thought, even after an interest rate cut in November and measures to in…