China's September trade surplus unexpectedly sank to the smallest since April as the pace of export growth cooled. The decline may ease pressure on China to adopt a more flexible currency system.
The surplus was US$7.57 billion, down from US$10.6 billion in August, the Beijing-based customs bureau said on its Web site today. Exports rose 25.9 percent from a year earlier last month, down from 33.2 percent growth in August. The rate of increase in imports was 23.5 percent, the same the previous month.
The drop in the trade surplus may quell calls from China's trading partners for the yuan to appreciate more than it has under the trading mechanism adopted in July. US Treasury Secretary John Snow, who started an eight-day visit to China today, said he wants the country to adopt a more flexible currency trading system.
China's government bonds rose. The yield on the 10-year bond fell 6 basis points, or 0.06 percentage point, to 3.08 percent, a seven-month low. The price of the 4.44 percent bond maturing in February 2015 climbed 0.49, or 4.9 yuan per 1,000 yuan face amount, to 110.99. Bond yields move inversely to price.
China's trade surplus for the first nine months of the year was US$68.33 billion, compared with US$3.99 billion in the same period last year. Exports in the first nine months rose 31.3 percent to US$546.42 billion. Imports grew 16 percent to US$478.09 billion.
China on July 21 allowed its currency to appreciate for the first time in a decade, revaluing the yuan by 2.1 percent against the US dollar and replacing the pegged exchange rate with a link to a basket of currencies. Since the revaluation, the yuan has gained less than 0.3 percent against the dollar.
Snow and policy makers including European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet will meet with Chinese Finance Minister Jin Renqing (
China's swelling trade surplus has been leading to rising trade tensions as countries around the world impose quotas and tariffs on Chinese-made goods now flooding their markets. The EU has already imposed quotas on exports of some Chinese textiles and said it would impose five-year tariffs on polyester fabrics from China. Brazil's Trade Ministry said on Sept. 30 it will investigate possible safeguard measures against rising imports of shoes, textiles and toys from China after talks between the two countries to limit shipments failed.
Central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan (
Surging exports from the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, clothes and steel have been helping to create jobs and sustain growth as government curbs on lending cool growth in investment, which last year accounted for nearly half of China's GDP. The economy expanded by more than 9 percent for the past eight quarters.
‘SHORT-TERM ECONOMIC PAIN’: A military takeover would only temporarily weigh on wafer production on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, IC Insights said Taiwan has more chip manufacturing capacity than any other economy in the world, US-based market information advisory firm IC Insights said in a research paper last week, cautioning that the nation’s strength could prompt China to attempt to take over Taiwan. Taiwan commanded 21.4 percent of global installed IC capacity, ahead of South Korea’s 20.4 percent, Japan’s 15.8 percent and China’s 15.3 percent, North America’s 12.6 percent and Europe’s 5.7 percent, IC Insights said. Taiwan is one of two countries that uses 10-nanometer technology or better to produce wafers, holding 62.8 percent of global capacity, with South Korea holding the remaining 37.2
SELF-SUFFICIENCY: Alibaba is one of a number of Chinese firms that has answered Beijing’s call to invest in the development of cutting-edge technologies Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) yesterday unveiled a new server chip that is based on advanced 5-nanometer technology, marking a milestone in China’s pursuit of semiconductor self-sufficiency. The Chinese tech giant’s newest chip is based on micro-architecture provided by the SoftBank Group Corp-owned Arm Ltd, it said. Alibaba, which is holding its annual cloud summit in Hangzhou, China, said that the chip is to be used in its own data centers in the “near future” and would not, for the time being, be sold commercially. “Customizing our own server chips is consistent with our ongoing efforts toward boosting our computing capabilities with better
AGGRESSIVE STEP: With the new processors, Apple is aiming at the high-end chips Intel has provided for the MacBook Pro and other top-end Macs for about 15 years Apple Inc on Monday took the most aggressive step yet to strip Intel Corp chips from its computers, announcing more powerful homegrown Mac processors alongside a total revamp of its MacBook Pro laptop computers. The company showcased the chips at an event called “Unleashed,” which also included its latest audio products. The new components, called the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, are 70 percent faster than its M1 predecessors, Apple said. It also unveiled a redesigned MacBook Pro, adding larger screens, MagSafe charging and better resolution. With the new processors and devices, Apple is aiming squarely at the high-end chips that Intel has
PRICE SPREAD: Oil trading under the Brent futures contract is giving the US a hefty edge in pricing, increasing the rush to secure cheap fuel as winter approaches Asian demand for US oil is rising as the energy crisis boosts prices for other crudes that are priced against the global Brent futures contract. China and other Asian buyers have been snapping up supertankers of US oil for delivery next month and seeking more for December, some traders have said. Most buyers are seeking US grades that had recently slumped to the lowest levels in more than a year, with an added incentive after Beijing awarded millions of tonnes of crude oil import quotas. A wide spread between Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil futures is accommodating higher US crude
RSS