China’s imports contracted sharply last month, while exports rose at a slower pace, reinforcing signs of feeble domestic demand despite the lifting of COVID-19 curbs and heaping pressure on an economy already struggling in the face of cooling global growth.
China’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter of this year thanks to robust services consumption, but factory output has lagged and the latest trade numbers point to a long road to regaining pre-COVID-19 momentum.
Inbound shipments to the world’s second-largest economy fell 7.9 percent year-on-year, extending the 1.4 percent decline seen a month earlier, while exports grew 8.5 percent, easing from the 14.8 percent surge in March, customs data showed yesterday.
Photo: AP
Economists in a Reuters poll had predicted no growth in imports and an 8 percent increase in exports.
“Given the gloomy outlook for external demand, we think exports will decline further before bottoming out later this year,” Capital Economics Ltd economist Zichun Huang (黃子春) said in a note.
“We still think reopening rebound in domestic demand will drive a recovery in imports over the coming months,” she added.
The downturn in imports suggests that the global economy is unlikely to be able to count much on China’s domestic engine of growth, and as the nation re-exports some of its imports, it also reinforces the extent of weakness in some of its major trading partner economies.
Analysts say the sharp global monetary policy tightening campaign of the past 12 to 18 months and recent Western banking stress remain concerns for the revival prospects of China and the world.
Shipment growth to ASEAN, China’s largest export partner, slowed to 4.5 percent last month from 35.4 percent in March.
Other data showed that South Korean exports to China, a leading indicator of China’s imports, were down 26.5 percent last month, continuing 10 consecutive months of decline.
China’s coal imports fell last month from a 15-month high the prior month, while imports of copper — a proxy for global growth — and natural gas were also down in the same period.
“The contraction of imports may be partly driven by the slowdown of global demand, which in turn affects China’s imports of parts and components for the processing of exports,” Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd (保銀私募基金管理) chief economist Zhiwei Zhang (張智威) said.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for last month showed new export orders contracting sharply, underlining the challenge facing Chinese policymakers and businesses hoping for a robust post-COVID-19 economic recovery.
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia
RSS