China exports drop for seventh month on tepid global demand

Beijing

CHINA's exports fell for a seventh month, leaving policymakers reliant on domestic growth engines to hit their economic expansion goals.

Overseas shipments dropped 7.3 per cent from a year earlier in October in dollar terms. Imports slipped 1.4 per cent and trade surplus widened to US$49.1 billion. A depreciation of about 9 per cent in the yuan since August 2015 has cushioned the blow from tepid global demand, but failed to give shipments a sustained boost.