Yuan gets a booster as China's Dec exports jump and trade surplus swells

Beijing

CHINA'S trade surplus widened and exports recovered last month, offering support to a weakening currency that has roiled global markets this year.

The nation's trade balance widened to US$60 billion, taking the full-year tally to US$594.5 billion, helping offset capital outflows that have pressured the yuan. Exports slid 1.4 per cent in US dollar terms in December from a year earlier, and rose when counted in the local currency.

Asian equities and the Australian dollar climbed. China's tumbling shares, which fell again on Wednesday, and its weakening currency have shaken global markets in 2016, eroding confidence in an economy that's struggling to stabilise after it likely…