China’s exports in RMB terms fell 1.1% year-on-year in September, above market consensus of a decline of 7.4%, and compares with a 6.1% drop in August.
Imports remained weak and contracted 17.7% year-on-year in September, compared with a decline of 14.3% in August, reflecting soft domestic demand and commodity price declines.
As a result, China’s trade surplus remained sizable at RMB376.2 billion (US$60.3 billion) in September, which is likely to help offset China’s capital outflow pressure.
"September’s import figure does not bode well for industrial production and fixed asset investment. The overall growth momentum last month remained weak and third quarter GDP growth to be released next Monday will likely have edged down to 6.4% for the third quarter, compared with 7% during the first half," says a research report by ANZ.
