CHINA’S exports unexpectedly rose in March, the first gain in six months, in a further positive sign for the economy.

Exports jumped 14.8 per cent in US dollar terms last month from a year earlier, while imports declined 1.4 per cent, the customs administration said on Thursday (Apr 13) in Beijing. That left a trade surplus of US$88.2 billion for the month. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast that exports would drop by 7.1 per cent, while imports would fall by 6.4 per cent.

Over the past three years, booming export demand was a strong support for the world’s second-largest economy, and helped compensate for weak domestic spending caused by the country’s housing market slump and Covid Zero restrictions. Exports began to contract from late 2022 as demand from the US, the European Union and other countries all lost momentum.

“China’s foreign trade in the first quarter showed relatively strong resilience and came off a stable start to the year with signs of improvement,” Lyu Daliang, a spokesperson for the customs office, told reporters in Beijing. However, difficulties and challenges remain due to high global inflation, slowing growth in major economies, rising protectionism and geopolitical risks, he added.

Stocks in China and Hong Kong pared losses after the data, with Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of Chinese shares traded in Hong Kong down 0.7 per cent as of 11.43 am local time. The yield on 10-year government bonds rose one basis point, set for the first increase in five sessions, while the yuan was little changed.

The rebound in exports was a surprise since early indicators this month seemed to suggest the weakness had continued. South Korean exports, a bellwether for global trade, plunged further in March.

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The World Trade Organization said last week that global trade will slump below historical growth trends this year, reaching 1.7 per cent amid geopolitical tensions and economic pressures including inflation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, monetary policy tightening and financial market uncertainty. Trade weakness is also being seen in factory sentiment data.

In yuan terms, China’s exports rose about 23 per cent in March from a year ago, up from 5.2 per cent in February, according to Bloomberg calculations based on official data. Imports increased about 6.3 per cent in March after rising 11.1 per cent in February. BLOOMBERG