Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Hard News Hard Hitting News Source Global Political News

Business News

China trade tumbles in May, adding to signs economic recovery is slowing

Driverless trucks move shipping containers at an automated port in Tianjin, China, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. China’s exports fell 7.5% from a year ago in May, 2023, and imports were down 4.5%, adding to signs an economic recovery is slowing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

BEIJING (AP) — China’s exports fell 7.5% from a year earlier in May and imports were down 4.5%, adding to signs an economic rebound following the end of anti-virus controls is slowing as global demand weakens under pressure from higher interest rates.

Exports slid to $283.5 billion, reversing from April’s unexpectedly strong 8.5% growth, customs data showed Wednesday. Imports fell to $217.7 billion, moderating from the previous month’s 7.9% contraction. China’s global trade surplus narrowed by 16.1% to $65.8 billion.

Trade weakness adds to downward pressure on the world’s second-largest economy following lackluster factory and consumer activity and a surge in unemployment among young people.

“China’s exports will remain subdued, as we anticipate the U.S. economy to enter recession,” Lloyd Chan of Oxford Economics said in a report.

Factory output and consumer spending revived after controls that cut off access to major cities for weeks at a time and blocked most international travel were lifted in December. But forecasters say the peak of that rebound probably has passed.

Retail spending is recovering more slowly than expected because jittery consumers worry about the economic outlook and possible job losses. A government survey in April found a record 1 in 5 young workers in cities were unemployed.

Factory activity is contracting and employers are cutting jobs after interest rate hikes to cool inflation in the United States and Europe depressed demand for Chinese exports.

Exports to the United States tumbled 18.2% from a year earlier to $42.5 billion after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark lending rate to a 16-year high to curb surging inflation by slowing business and consumer activity.

Imports of American goods sank 9.9% to $14.3 billion. China’s politically volatile trade surplus with the United States narrowed by 21.9% to $28.1 billion.

China’s economic growth accelerated to 4.5% over a year earlier in the three months ending in March from the previous quarter’s 2.9%. It would need to accelerate further to reach the ruling Communist Party’s official growth target of “around 5%” for the year.

April’s “disappointing activity data” suggest “suggests China’s domestic demand recovery has lost steam following the reopening-induced bounce,” Chan said.

For the year to date, imports fell 6.7% from the same five-month period of 2022 to just over $1 trillion, while export growth fell close to zero. Exports edged up 0.3% to $1.4 trillion.

Imports from Russia, mostly oil and gas, rose 10% over a year ago to $11.3 billion. Exports to Russia surged 114% to $9.3 billion.

China is buying more Russian energy to take advantage of price cuts, helping to shore up the Kremlin’s cash flow after the United States, Europe and Japan cut off most purchases to punish Moscow for President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Beijing can buy Russian oil and gas without triggering Western sanctions. China has become Russia’s biggest export market and an important source of manufactured goods.

Also in May, China’s imports from the 27-nation European Union fell 38.6% to $24.5 billion. Exports to Europe fell 26.6% to $44.6 billion. Beijing’s trade surplus with Europe narrowed by 3% to $20.1 billion.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/china-trade-economy-recovery-f56dc3c1b60446d55560be4aff9eb1d8

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Business News

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Psilocybin tea, wind chimes and a tie-dye mattress await those coming to an office suite in Eugene to trip on...

Business News

The U.S. government is taking aim at what has been an indomitable empire: Google’s ubiquitous search engine that has become the internet’s main gateway....

Accidents

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Ambulance and fire truck sirens wailed outside as Elsie Rosales stripped linens from king-sized mattresses at a beachfront resort in...

Accidents

TAFEGHAGHTE, Morocco (AP) — Survivors with shovels worked alongside bulldozers Monday to dig through remote Moroccan villages flattened by a monstrous earthquake, as hope dwindled...

Copyright © 2023 Hard News Herd Hitting in Your Face News Source | World News | Breaking News | US News | Political News Website by Top Search SEO