China’s goods exports grew at the highest rate in 17 months in August, boosted by recovering overseas demand and a surge in shipments of masks to countries battling Covid-19, while imports declined for a second straight month, official data showed.
Exports rose 9.5% year-on-year to $235.3 billion last month, accelerating from July’s 7.2% growth rate. It was the fastest expansion since March 2019, according to data (link in Chinese) released Monday by the General Administration of Customs. The reading was higher than the median forecast for 6% growth in a Caixin survey of economists (link in Chinese).
Imports dropped 2.1% year-on-year in August to $176.3 billion, steeper than a 1.4% decline the previous month. The reading came in below the Caixin survey’s median forecast of 0.2% growth.
Contact reporter Tang Ziyi (ziyitang@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
